Foster parents' perceptions of independent living services for youth who age out of the system

Abstract

Every child is entitled to a loving and stable home. Unfortunately, many children in America do not have a family to love them, a place to call home, or the stability of knowing where they will go to school year after year. According to statistics by the U.S. government, there are currently over half a million children in the foster care system in the United States. Only about half of these children will return to their parents. Every year, approximately 18,000 youth will age out from the foster care system when they reach the age of 18 or graduate from high school. This research project is designed to record how well foster parents believe the foster system does in preparing foster youth who turn 18 while in care for adulthood and independence. Foster parents' perceptions are important because they are there day in and day out with foster youth. They know which services are being provided and which services are not being provided that would be helpful. Foster parents see these youth leave the foster system with no family to turn to and no support. The two research questions for this study were: (1) How well do the foster parents believe the foster system prepares foster youth who age out of the system for adulthood? and (2) What do foster parents believe are the needs for foster children who age out of the system to prepare them for adulthood.