Despite these services and supports, research has demonstrated that compared to their counterparts in the general population, current and former foster youth are more likely to have difficulty making the transition to adulthood. This research, along with the efforts of policy makers and child welfare advocates, has brought greater attention to the challenges facing youth transitioning from care. These hearings culminated in the passage of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 ( P.L. 110-351 is arguably one of the most significant laws that pertain to older youth in foster care. This report presents issues affecting older youth as they transition from foster care into adulthood, particularly with regard to implementation of P.L. 113-183 . One possible challenge in implementing this provision is that even with assistance from the federal government, states may be hesitant to extend care because of the cost. Another concern is that youth in foster care are vulnerable to child sex trafficking, which refers to adults sexually exploiting children under age of 18 for commercial purposes. 113-183 requires, one year after the law's enactment, that child welfare agencies have policies in place to serve these youth. 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. See CRS Report RL34499, Youth Transitioning from Foster Care: Background and Federal Programs . 113-183 . Following hearings and roundtables on these topics, Congress passed the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act ( P.L. 113-183 ), which was signed into law on September 30, 2014. As authorized by P.L. Further, child welfare stakeholders call for extended care to have particular features. The study identified five such factors: (1) some juvenile courts in the state play an active role in retaining youth by keeping their cases open, even with resistance from stakeholders—caseworkers, caregivers, youth, and court personnel—involved in the case; (2) stakeholders in the child welfare system did not have a uniform understanding of laws and DCFS policy that allow youth to remain in care until age 21; (3) in regions where caseworkers believed that there were few appropriate foster care placements for the oldest youth in care, youth tended not to stay in care after age 18; (4) youth who had stable and supportive relationships with adults—foster parents, relatives, caseworkers, or other professionals—tended to remain in care longer; and (5) youth attitudes about staying in care beyond the age of majority was identified as a challenge in keeping them in care, and youth often request to leave or become uncooperative because of the restrictions imposed by their case worker. 106-169 ), the purposes of the CFCIP are to identify youth who are likely to remain in foster care until age 18 and provide them with support services to help make the transition to self-sufficiency; assist these youth in obtaining employment and preparing for and entering postsecondary training and educational institutions; provide personal and emotional support to youth aging out of foster care through mentors and other dedicated adults; enhance the efforts of former foster youth ages 18 to 21 to achieve self-sufficiency through supports that connect them to employment, education, housing, and other services; and assure that these former foster youth recognize and accept personal responsibility for preparing for and then making the transition from adolescence to adulthood. P.L. Ways to Foster Permanency

Despite federal protections to ensure that child welfare agencies help youth plan for their futures, child welfare practitioners and young people in care continue to advocate for additional policies that improve the transition to adulthood by encouraging strong, long-term connections to caring adults. Further, the case plan requirements could include documentation of the steps the agency takes to find a permanent placement with a family or other adult connection for the youth, as well as a permanent living arrangement. Some considerations include (1) the type of guidance and technical assistance HHS provides states to make them aware of the child welfare agency's role in responding to child sex trafficking, (2) whether states are serving youth who are not or were not previously in foster care, (3) how many victims are reported by state child welfare agencies to the federal government, and (4) any best practices that have been identified for serving these victims. For example, child welfare agencies may need to examine larger issues that may play a role in whether a child goes missing. Another consideration is how states define missing, and whether to report all missing children to law enforcement agencies. P.L. 110-351 can be housed in a foster home or independent living setting.
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 [author name scrubbed].