Extended Foster Care Practice and Program Reform: Perspectives of Workers and Community Partners

Background and Purpose: In the US, Extended Foster Care (EFC) provides services and benefits on a voluntary basis to young adults leaving the foster care system without having attained legal permanency. In 2021, more than 19,000 individuals transitioned out of foster care without achieving permanency (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2023). Most states have some form of EFC, providing benefits and services to participants ages 18 to 21 (Gaughen & Langford, 2019). As states seek to improve supports to young people in their transition to adulthood, it is important for research to identify institutional barriers and needed practice reforms. This study reports on analyses of qualitative data gathered in one state from workers and community partners as part of a larger collaborative systems assessment of EFC with the objective of spotlighting perceived gaps and needed policy and practice reforms.

Methods: Focus groups with 24 EFC caseworkers and regional leads and interviews with 14 community practitioners were conducted in 2023. Agency staff were recruited through the state’s EFC program administrators; community practitioners were recruited through an ongoing community of practice coalition. Institutional Review Board review was received and informed consent processes were followed. Qualitative data from recordings and transcripts were analyzed by multiple members of the study team using thematic analysis of coded content. Rapid qualitative analysis (Keniston, et al., 2023; Nevedal, et al., 2021) allowed for efficient analysis and sorting of data to gather findings prior to the legislative session. The study was developed with guidance from an advisory group of lived experts, who helped shape the interview questions and engaged in meaning making and interpretation of findings. Findings from the qualitative interviews were triangulated with results from a separate needs assessment of young adults exiting foster care.

Results: Key themes identified: 1) service and benefit gaps and needs, 2) organizational practice reforms, and 3) a need for culturally responsive services and a representative workforce. Specifically, workforce staff and community partners emphasized the need for EFC-specific units, developmentally tailored training, working from a clearly articulated practice model relevant to youth and young adults, reducing caseloads, recruitment and retention of a representative workforce, and more evidence-based practice options for EFC.

Conclusions and Implications: Study findings were presented to state agency leaders to inform agency practice and policy reform. Effective, coordinated, and responsive practice may encourage more young people to engage with EFC programs, build relational health, and better support their transition to adulthood. However, agency responsiveness to youth and young adults involved in child welfare services – a bureaucracy traditionally focused on young children -- calls for an institutional culture shift to better support the transition to adulthood. Findings related to EBPs for young adults spotlight the lack of tested-effective interventions for EFC-eligible populations and the need for more such research. The larger systems assessment pointed to significant benefits of participating in EFC for individuals leaving foster care, especially for marginalized subgroups and these findings were the basis of legislative testimony regarding state level policy reforms to expand EFC eligibility.