Credit hours:
3.00

Course Summary

For a young person in foster care, having permanence means stability and reliable, supportive lifelong connections. All youth in foster care need it. Understanding permanency and the Permanency Pact described in this course can give you confidence as you guide youth in your care towards building and strengthening relationships with supportive people in their life.

In this course, you can expect to learn:

  • The importance of permanency for youth in care

  • How young people in foster care think about permanency

  • The different types of permanent relationships and their roles in the lives of youth in care

  • The difference between positive and negative supports

  • Several ways a transitioning youth could benefit from the support of an adult

  • How to brainstorm a list of prospective Permanency Pact adults

  • How to access and create a Permanency Pact

  • The importance of understanding that permanency comes with responsibility from all people involved – including youth

Step 1

Watch the video "What Does Permanency Mean?" developed by Nebraska Children and Families Foundation to better understand what permanency means to foster youth.

Step 2

Meet the Lived Experience Leaders involved in the ACF’s All-In Youth Engagement Team, and learn from their expertise about what they would like to see for permanency in the foster care system.  Then review the All-In Youth Engagement Team’s  “Recommendations for Improving Permanency and Well-Being.”

Step 3

Review the FosterClub Permanency Pact. The Pact is designed to help foster youth identify supportive adult connections which will continue to provide positive supports through and beyond the transition from care. As a foster parent, you can introduce a young person to this tool and help them identify those continuing supports in an effort to build a strong support network.

Step 4

Watch and read how the Juvenile Law Center in Pennsylvania and its "Youth Fostering Change" program developed a "youth-perspective" toolkit for child welfare professionals that helps youth in care achieve permanency. 

Step 5

Review the following post written about the Permanency Pact by Independent Living Outreach Specialist at Children’s Aid Society Ebone Watkins.

Step 6

Review the article "Legal and Relational Permanence in Older Foster Care Youths" from Social Work Today.

Step 7

Join the discussion in the comments below to answer the following question:

How would you explain permanence to your foster youth?

Step 8

Finished the module? If you are logged in as a subscribed user, take the quiz to earn your Continuing Education Credit hours and certificate!

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Course Discussion

brett2634's picture
5 years 8 months ago

brett2634 said:

Having a sense of stability even after foster care. Having people permanently in place to support you as you learn to do life as an adult. They can have different capacities in your life, but they are all permanent and reliable.
dmlewis's picture
5 years 8 months ago

dmlewis said:

We have one foster kiddo coming back to us after turning 18. She was placed with an aunt in Michigan and wants to return to Colorado to be with her friends and support system. We are happy to have her and she will be a part of our family without going through a formal adoption. The permanency pact will be a wonderful show of commitment.
Tivvani's picture
5 years 8 months ago

Tivvani said:

Permanence means you have people or a situation in your life that you can count on to always be there. You feel secure with these people or in this place because you know they will be there unconditionally.
Hughey-Hill's picture
5 years 9 months ago

Hughey-Hill said:

Permanency is the greatest gift a foster parent can give besides love.
Hill-Hughey's picture
5 years 9 months ago

Hill-Hughey said:

I feel that the permanency pact offer a sense of caring to the youth in fostercare
gkjackjr1's picture
5 years 9 months ago

gkjackjr1 said:

see previous posts
gibb.luke's picture
5 years 9 months ago

gibb.luke said:

Permanence is having life long relationship with people you can count on.
iveygibb's picture
5 years 9 months ago

iveygibb said:

I would explain permanence to them by talking with them about unconditional love and support for a lifetime.
gkjackjr1's picture
5 years 9 months ago

gkjackjr1 said:

I would also explain it as a way of always keeping in contact because everyone needs someone in there life for support
gkjackjr1's picture
5 years 9 months ago

gkjackjr1 said:

A permanence plan pact is a great idea for youth transitioning. I believe is a great tool for all children, even those that have not been in foster care