A decade ago, adolescents in foster care were caught in a tug of war between proponents of permanency planning and advocates of “independent living.”  Child welfare professionals either championed preparing youth to live independently or finding youth permanent families – with the greater weight tending toward providing independent living services through the federal Independent Living Program and later through the Chaffee Independent Living Program. The issue of permanency for youth was generally dismissed as inappropriate. Arguments were made that youth did not want permanent families, youth were too “damaged” to be able to accept becoming a part of a permanent families, families were not interested in parenting teenagers, and permanent placements of teens with families inevitably failed.   Youth were referred to independent living services and their social workers assumed that everything had already been done to achieve one of the “more permanent” goals for the youth – reunification with parents or extended family, adoption or guardianship – and emancipation was the only goal remaining. 

Little if any attention was given to reconnecting youth with parents or extended family.  Despite the language in the Foster Care Independence Act that “independent living activities should not be seen as an alternative to permanence for children” and “can be provided concurrently with adoption and other permanency activities,” few adolescents in foster care were adopted – or reunited with their parents or placed in legal guardianship arrangements – before they aged out of care.  Little or no attention was paid to well-established theories of adolescent development casting serious doubt on the ability of any 18-year-old to transition successfully to adulthood and launch into full “independence.”

Two problems surfaced early even in well-intentioned independent living programs.  First, resources for these programs often went unused, with states failing to tap federal resources and youth declining to participate.  Second, many programs proved to be of limited effectiveness. One study by Courtney in 2008 (see Resource List) found that two classroom-based independent living programs did not succeed largely because they failed to solidify and integrate the benefits that come with ongoing parenting relationships.   A growing body of research began to show that youth have a need unseen by independent living programs:  enduring, supportive family relationships. 

With the enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) and the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (FCA), the achievement of permanency for all children and youth in foster care became a primary goal.  ASFA required States to work to achieve permanency through reunification, adoption or guardianship for all children and youth in their care and custody and to seek termination of parental rights when children and youth had been in care for 15 of the most recent 22 months.   The FCA provided tools for prioritizing family connections for children and youth in foster care.  

Permanency for older children and youth in foster care began to be considered – slowly at first, but with increasing urgency as child welfare professionals confronted the dire outcomes for youth aging out of the foster care system to live on their own.  Studies made clear that young people aging out of foster care face enormous challenges, being disconnected from families, supportive adults, services and socioeconomic supports that would significantly increase their chances of becoming productive, self-sustaining adults.  Studies by Mark Courtney and colleagues as well as Peter Pecora and colleagues (see Resource List) found that when compared to their non-foster care peers, youth aging out of foster care:

• Were less likely to graduate from high school
• Were more likely to be unemployed and struggle to support themselves financially
• Were at greater risk of homelessness
• Were at higher risk for physical and mental health problems
• Were more apt to become pregnant or to father a child by age 19
• Were more likely to enter the criminal justice system

Permanent parenting and permanent family connections for youth in foster care have now come to be recognized as essential to young people’s healthy development and successful transition to adulthood from foster care.   As stated by Kerman and Glasheen (2009, p. 11):

Family is critical for psychological development, as both mediator and source of challenging experiences and resources for successful navigation of adulthood. In this sense, the pursuit of enduring relationships, alongside support services, provides a framework for permanency-directed child welfare services and the journey toward permanence provides a focus for improving outcomes for children and families.

Avery, R.J. (2010).  An examination of theory and promising practice for achieving permanency for teens before they age out of foster care.  Children and Youth Services Review, 32, 399-408.  http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/15072/2/Avery%2009%20pub%2001.pdf

Ansell, D.I. (2002).  The Dilemma of “Either/Or”: Permanency vs. Independent Living.  National Resource Center on Youth Development.  http://www.nrcyd.ou.edu/eupdate/pdfs/yd_update_2002_fallwin.pdf

Casey Family Programs.  (2008). Improving Outcomes for Older Youth in Foster Care. http://www.casey.org/resources/publications/pdf/WhitePaper_ImprovingOutcomesOlderYouth_FR.pdf

Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare. (2009). Permanency or Aging Out: Adolescents in the Child Welfare System.   http://www.cehd.umn.edu/ssw/cascw/attributes/PDF/publications/CW360_2009.pdf

Courtney, M. (2005).  Youth Aging Out of Foster Care.  Network on Transitions to Adulthood: Policy Brief. (2005). http://www.transad.pop.upenn.edu/downloads/courtney--foster%20care.pdf

Courtney, M. & Dworsky, A. (2006).  Early outcomes for young adults transitioning from out-of-home care in the USA. Child and Family Social Work, 11, 209-219.
http://www.chapinhall.org/research/report/early-outcomes-young-adults-transitioning-out-home-care-us

Courtney, M. et al. (2011).  Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth.
http://www.chapinhall.org/research/report/midwest-evaluation-adult-functioning-former-foster-youth

Kerman, B. & Glasheen, L. (2009). The central role of permanence in improving outcomes for youth aging out of foster care.  http://www.caseyfamilyservices.org/userfiles/pdf/art-2009-central-role-permanence.pdf

Pecora, P.J., et al. (2005). Improving Family Foster Care:  Findings from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study.  http://www.casey.org/resources/publications/pdf/improvingfamilyfostercare_es.pdf