Fostering Connections Act Case Study

Decision makers at the federal, state, and local levels control the distribution of power and resources that affect the problem. At the federal level, Congress enacts legislation; then, the Department of Health and Human Services make recommendations about implementation. There are many decision makers between the federal level and the street level where youth actually receive services. States are responsible for requesting funding and choosing to enact Foster Connection Act 2008 Provisions. States determine their individual policies in their legislatures. They can allocate funding to providing services and support to youth aging out of the system and determine the age at which youth no longer are eligible for services. Additionally, they may determine under what set of circumstances youth may remain or re-enter the system.
Though some states have a statewide child welfare system, many of the states actually implement programs at a county level. This results in another set of decision makers who create

policies impacting youth aging out of the system. Far removed from what is happening in Congress, the daily implantation of programs falls upon case managers and front-line workers within county programs and agencies. These individuals, while operating within the framework that those above them have created, still maintain a considerable amount of power over youth aging out of the system.
Despite the federal government’s 2004 allocation of $7.6 billion specifically for child welfare services, funding to provide all needed services is clearly inadequate to meet the needs of vulnerable children (DiNitto, 2011). Federal and state funding under the Title XX Social Services Block Grant and the TANF and Medicaid programs also support child welfare services. Non-profit organizations such as Annie E. Casey Foundation and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) also support youth aging out of the system. Though the legislation is not cost-effective and is costing more money to implement and is a financial drain on the system, but is needed to address the issue of youth again out of the system.
Critique of the Policy
The information that are gathered and received from the NYTD is used to determine the effectiveness of programs and to identify areas where improvement is needed. For the main focus of this policy analysis paper, data from the NYTD will be use to critique the Fostering Connection Act. In order to measure the outcomes of youth transitioning out of the system, states are required to administer the NYTD survey to cohorts of youth at ages 17, 19, and 21 (National Youth in Transition Database Data Briefs, 2014). The Children’s Bureau compared the outcomes reported by youth in the first NYTD cohort at ages 17 and 19. NYTD survey provided a national glimpse of how these youth aging out are faring in certain outcome areas such as housing, education, employment, physical health, mental health, substance abuse, and criminal involvement.
In FFY 2011, youth were asked at age 17 if they had ever been homeless at some point in their lives. In FFY 2013, at age 19, youth were asked if they had experienced homelessness within the past two years. It was reported that at age 17, 16% had experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. By age 19, 19% reported having been homeless at some point within the past two years, the vast majority (80%) of whom were no longer in foster care (National Youth in Transition Database Data Briefs, 2014). It is important to note that there has been an increase by 3% in homelessness. Of the 1,260 youth who reported a history of homelessness at age 17 and who also completed the survey at age 19, 34% reported experiencing another episode of homelessness within the past two years.
The NYTD survey asks youth to report their current enrollment status in an educational program and the highest educational certification received. While the majority (91%) of youth at age 17 had not yet received any educational certifications, an overwhelming majority (94%) of them had indicated they were enrolled in and attending some type of educational programming (National Youth in Transition Database Data Briefs, 2014). By age 19, over half (55%) had received a high school diploma or GED. At age 19, 54% were enrolled in and attending some type of educational programming. Of these, 49% reported having achieved a high school diploma or GED.
To better understand a youth’s outcome experiences in the area of financial self-sufficiency, the NYTD survey poses questions to youth regarding their acquisition of skills necessary to enter the labor market and their access to financial resources to help meet their living expenses. As youth age and make decisions about whether or not to remain in or return to foster care, financial stability becomes a crucial indicator of young people’s readiness for independence. At age 17, over one-quarter (29%) reported experiences in at least one employment-related category (full/part-time employment, paid/unpaid internship). By age 19, about half (51%) reported some employment-related experience, including 54% of youth in foster care and 49% of youth not in care (National Youth in Transition Database Data Briefs, 2014). At age 19, 43% reported receiving at least one form of financial assistance (Social Security, educational aid, or some other form of significant, periodic financial support). Thirty-four percent of youth not in foster care reported receiving at least one type of public assistance (housing, food, or financial assistance).
The baseline and follow-up survey information from Cohort 1 reveals that the Fostering Connections Act has somewhat fulfill its mission and goals.

The outcome shows that there has been an increase by 3% in homelessness along with negative results in the area of substance abuse and criminal involvement. However, there has been a positive increase for youth in the areas of education, employment, physical health and mental health. At age 17, the majority of these youth were attending school, had positive connections to at least one adult, and were receiving Medicaid. Half of them did not report any history of high-risk outcomes and the majority reported never having been homeless. At age 19, many of these positive indicators were maintained with the majority having earned a high school diploma or GED, reporting a positive connection to an adult, receiving Medicaid or some other type of health insurance, and demonstrating early signs of financial

self-sufficiency.
In other areas, there is evidence that some youth are facing potential barriers to self-sufficiency as they move toward adulthood. More males than females reported high-risk outcomes both at baseline and at follow-up (National Youth in Transition Database Data Briefs, 2014). Results also suggest that youth with reported histories of challenging experiences (homelessness, substance abuse, or criminal involvement) may be more likely to experience additional challenges as they age compared to those youth who did not report those outcomes at age 17. These findings may help underscore the importance of providing supports to youth who may be particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes as they transition to adulthood, including providing targeted independent living services or allowing youth to remain in foster care during this transition.
There were good consequences of the Fostering Connections Act that include addressing the issues of youth aging out of the foster care system. Youth who aged out were given the opportunity to continue to receive services until age 21. Additionally, there were unintended consequences that were not part of the original goal such as hiring more front-line workers to serve the youth aging out. Since more services are being implemented and provided, then more social workers are needed to address this issue as well. Overall, the Fostering Connections Act has aimed at the issue of youth aging out in some areas (education, employment, physical health and mental health), but there are still areas (housing, substance abuse, and criminal involvement) for improvement.