LegiStorm

Summary:

Recent research has demonstrated that compared to their peers current and former foster youth are more likely to experience negative outcomes in adulthood. This research, along with the efforts of policy makers and child welfare advocates, has brought greater attention to the challenges facing older youth in care and those transitioning from foster care. In response, Congress has sought to improve existing services and provide additional supports for this population through legislation. The 110th Congress passed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-351), which is arguably one of the most significant laws enacted in the past two decades that expands services and supports for older foster youth. The 113th Congress expanded on these efforts through the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (P.L. 113-183), enacted on September 30, 2014. The law adds requirements (effective one year after enactment) that are intended to engage older youth in case planning and provide them with certain protections. This report discusses issues affecting older youth as they transition from foster care into adulthood, particularly those that pertain to implementation of the two laws. P.L. 110-351 extended eligibility, beginning in FY2011, for federal foster care assistance to youth who remain in care after age 18 (at state option until 19, 20, or 21). The law additionally authorized this assistance on behalf of older youth eligible for federal foster care if they reside in an independent living setting (as well as foster family homes or other eligible settings). One possible challenge in extending care is that even with assistance from the federal government, states may be hesitant to extend care to older youth because of the cost. Further, child welfare stakeholders assert that states should ensure that youth who remain in care have opportunities to take on increasing responsibilities to prepare them for the transition from care. Despite federal protections to ensure that child welfare agencies help youth as they enter adulthood, stakeholders have called for additional policies to improve this transition by encouraging strong, long-term connections to adults. For example, some policy makers have articulated that child welfare agencies should ensure that all children in foster care have a permanency goal of reunification or other more permanent outcomes, and not a case goal of another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA). Policy makers assert that APPLA is often used as a default option when a permanent option has not been identified. P.L. 113-183 requires that beginning one year after enactment only youth age 16 and older may have a case goal of APPLA and that additional court oversight is required for these youth. Another concern is that youth in foster care are vulnerable to child sex trafficking, which refers to adults sexually exploiting children under age 18 for commercial purposes. P.L. 113-183 requires, one year after enactment, that child welfare agencies have policies in place to serve child sex trafficking victims. Congress may wish to monitor how states are implementing these and related requirements, including how many victims have been reported by state child welfare agencies to the federal government and any best practices that have been identified for serving these victims. P.L. 113-183 further requires states to develop protocols for responding to children who run from foster care. This may prompt child welfare agencies to examine larger issues that may play a role in whether a child goes missing. A related consideration is how states define "missing" and whether to report all missing children to law enforcement. For background information about older foster youth and the current federal policies and programs for this population, see CRS Report RL34499, Youth Transitioning from Foster Care: Background and Federal Programs, by Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara.