Extended Foster Care Works: Why Implementation Makes All The Difference

Forbes

01-05-2025

Written by Thomas Lee, CEO, First Place for Youth
Each year, over 20 thousand foster youth age out of care at 18 years old. While testifying before Congress, one former foster youth said, 'When I graduated high school, the adults I relied on vanished...I was unaware of Extended Foster Care and transitional supports, and social workers did not respond to my requests for financial assistance. This led to years of homelessness, domestic violence, and instability.'
As we examine recent discourse on extended foster care, a concerning narrative has emerged. After nearly two decades of implementation across 33 states, critics rightfully question whether these programs are fulfilling their transformative promise. The numbers, frankly, are disappointing. According to the 'Fostering Youth Transitions 2023' report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, only 22% of eligible youth choose to remain in care after turning 18, and an alarming 77% fail to utilize available transition services.
The recent Youth Law Center report delivers a sobering assessment: ten years after California extended foster care to age 21, the program 'has not been transformative.' Despite participation, many youth continue to experience homelessness, incarceration, and mental health challenges. Nearly half of California youth report lacking reliable emotional support networks despite program participation.
As someone dedicated to improving outcomes for transition-age foster youth, I find these statistics deeply troubling but not surprising. The problem isn't the concept of extended foster care itself—it's the scope of implementation.
Extended foster care was never meant to simply delay the inevitable transition to adulthood. It was envisioned as a lifeline—a runway to guide young people toward a successful and fulfilling future. By providing not just a safe place to live but also a network of support, the goal was to offer stability and the chance to heal and grow. Unfortunately, in many cases, the focus has shifted too narrowly to housing, overlooking the deeper, more complex needs these young people face.
For youth aging out of foster care, their journey has often been marked by years of uncertainty—nearly eight years in the system, with at least six different foster homes and numerous school changes. The instability they've faced creates deep emotional scars that can't be healed with housing alone.
What's missing in many extended foster care programs is the kind of intensive, relationship-driven support that helps these young people process their trauma and develop the skills they need to thrive independently. Without this, the chance for true healing and growth remains out of reach.
At First Place for Youth, we've taken a different approach. Our data from fiscal year 2024 reveals what's possible when extended foster care is implemented comprehensively. After 365 days in our My First Place program:
These outcomes represent significant improvements from youth's situations when entering the program, where 47% were not stably housed, 51% were not in school, and 43% were not employed.
What truly speaks volumes are the life-changing results. Just two years after completing our program, the young people we support are not only earning wages that match those of their peers who never spent time in foster care—they're actually earning 1.5 times more than young people who never enrolled in the program. And they are 1.6 times more likely to be employed.
This isn't a small step forward. It's proof that extended foster care isn't just a safety net; it can be a launchpad for success. These outcomes shatter the misconception that the system has failed. Instead, they stand as a testament to the transformative power of investing in these young lives.
The question isn't whether extended foster care can work, but how to implement it effectively. Through our experience serving 1,496 youth across multiple states last year, we've identified several critical elements:
The mixed results of extended foster care nationally shouldn't prompt us to abandon the model but rather to refine it. Policymakers must recognize that housing-only approaches are insufficient and that comprehensive support services are not optional luxuries but essential components.
Current legislation aimed at expanding federal extended foster care programs must include provisions for implementation quality, not just access. Without addressing the how, we risk replicating or reinforcing the status quo.
From a fiscal perspective, investing in quality implementation makes economic sense. Research shows that providing effective extended foster care has a return on investment of $4.1 billion per year per cohort of youth aging out of care.
The persistent challenges in extended foster care implementation across the country have strengthened our resolve to expand First Place for Youth's proven model nationwide. In the next five years, we plan to double our reach, growing from serving youth in seven states to fourteen.
This isn't growth for growth's sake—it's a deliberate strategy to bring high-quality extended foster care services to regions where transition-age foster youth currently have few or no supports. Many young people aging out of foster care in these states face an abrupt end to services, with no runway to build the skills, resources, and networks needed for successful independence. Our expansion focuses particularly on regions with high populations of foster youth and few transitional housing options, ensuring we address the most critical service gaps first.
Through strategic partnerships with local organizations, we're adapting our model to meet community-specific needs while maintaining the core elements that make our approach effective. For example, our recent expansion to Mississippi brings our proven model to a state where transition-age foster youth previously had minimal support options. This balance of standardized, evidence-based programming with localized implementation ensures that regardless of geography, every youth in our program receives the comprehensive support they need to thrive.
By bringing quality extended foster care implementation to more communities, we're not just serving more youth—we're demonstrating what's possible when extended foster care is done right.
If we're serious about changing outcomes for foster youth, we must move beyond debates about whether extended foster care works to focus on how it can work best. Programs like My First Place demonstrate that with the right implementation, the original vision of extended foster care—preparing youth for successful, independent adulthood—is achievable.
The evidence is undeniable: when we provide stable housing paired with intensive case management, education and employment support, and a focus on health and wellness, youth don't just survive—they thrive. They don't merely escape negative outcomes; they soar to new heights, achieving employment and educational success that rivals their peers who never experienced foster care.
As we engage in the national conversation about how best to support transition-age foster youth, we must stop asking whether extended foster care has failed. Instead, let's ask ourselves how we can make it work better, how we can make it truly transformative. The stakes for the 20,000 youth who age out of the system each year are far too high for us to settle for anything less than real, lasting change. The time to act is now—let's create a future where these young people don't just make it but succeed beyond our wildest expectations.