Finding Stability for Youth
One in four youth exiting foster care do not have lasting connections to family or supportive adults. FosterClub believes that meaningful relationships post-care significantly enhance youth's chances to thrive.
Why It Matters
Young people in foster care often struggle to form lasting, supportive relationships. These lasting and supportive relationships have proven to help former foster youth in getting housing, education, and stable jobs. Professionals working with these youth should prioritize reconnecting them with birth families, chosen families, and other supportive figures through various means, including mentorship and community involvement.
There are 3 different types of permanence:
Legal Permanence
Legal family relationships like adoptive parents
Relational Permanence
Emotionally supportive relationships like a teacher or mentor
Cultural Permanence
Feeling connected to one’s culture/traditions
Quick Facts
- Youth who exit care without permanence are more likely to experience homelessness, poverty, and/or mental health challenges. (National Institutes of Health)
- Black and Native American youth are less likely to have supportive adult relationships after exiting foster care. (The Chronicle of Evidence Based Mentoring)
- 1 in 4 youth in foster care will live in a group placement setting. Youth in group placements are less likely to have supportive relationships with adults after exiting care. (Casey Family Programs)
“When I started high school, my life was in a downward spiral. I was fortunate enough to have some people that recognized that I had something better to offer and that I had the choice to change my life around. Without these people, I don’t know if I’d be here today.”
— Former foster youth
Tools You Can Use
- This fact sheet from Child Welfare Information Gateway highlights the importance of communication and maintaining relationships that center a youth’s well-being.
- FosterClub created this resource with information for youth about permanence, designed to discuss emotional connections and lifelong support, while offering information that is relevant and accessible.
- This Casey Family programs brief highlights the importance of family visitation and maintaining connections for youth. It explains how regular contact with family can support emotional well-being.
How We're Working on This Issue
Journey to Success Campaign
FosterClub helps lead the Journey to Success Campaign, championing the rights of older foster youth, especially their right to permanence.
Through Washington DC visits, virtual training for child welfare professionals, and informative briefs, FosterClub collaborates with partners like Think of Us, American Academy of Pediatrics, Youth Law Center, and Partnership for America’s Children to amplify its impact.
National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Policy Council Priorities
The National Policy Council's members inform federal policymakers about real foster care experiences and advocate for vital child welfare reforms. Many recommendations include calls to focus on permanency for youth.
FosterClub's Permanency Pact
FosterClub's Permanency Pact is a collaborative tool, developed with youth and adult input, and designed to assist youth and their support teams in achieving lasting permanence.
“Permanency is essential to a youth feeling like they belong and can have a stable future. Without permanency, a lot of youth feel like they are just a leaf caught in the wind and don’t really know which direction they are going. Permanency can be that anchor that grounds them and shows them they can have a future.”
— Ethan B, former foster youth
Want to Learn More?
A resource about prioritizing family ties from the Journey to Success Program.
Data from the Casey Foundation shows how youth transition out of foster care and emphasizes the need for resources and advocacy.
A study with helpful data that explores the role of relationships and permanence in the lives of foster youth transitioning into adulthood.
Blogs on Permanence
Youth Share Why Family Connections Matter
We asked youth to share how they stay connected with family (including parents & siblings), and why staying connected is important to them. Check out what they had to say, and learn why family connections matter. Interested in contributing your voice? Watch for our prize drawing here and the next contest! Virtually Connected! by Cheyenne Contest Blog.png My mom, her...
Contest: Foster Love in February
THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED - THANK YOU FOR ENTERING! The young people of foster care never cease to amaze us. We invited FosterClub's youth to contribute their voice to our Foster Love in February contest by sharing poems and stories of ways they stay connected to family, and why that is important to them. We published several of their quotes...
Permanence
In my childhood and early adolescence I had never had a supportive person that gave me hope or encouragement. Throughout my life I had heard horror stories of foster care. It was something I feared more than the situation I was in with my own family. The stigma of foster care scared me away from trying to reach safety. However...
Informing the Court: What Permanency Means for Young People
In court, permanency is often talked about from a legal standpoint, but we know that permanency can mean something different for young people who experience foster care. One of FosterClub’s Young Leaders, David Hall, recently had the opportunity to share his experiences around permanency in a webinar hosted by the Capacity Building Center for Courts and attended by members of...
My Permanency
Permanency: lasting or intended to last or remain unchanged indefinitely. That is the dictionary definition of the word. However, in the perspective of a foster youth, permanency has no set definition. In the foster care system, youth may experience instability regarding placement, and for that, the system tries to lead youth on a path to permanency through reunification, emancipation, kinship...
Ensuring Permanency for Young People in the Foster Care System
National Foster Youth Advisory Council Members of the National Foster Youth Advisory Council (NFYAC) believe that every young person in the foster care system is entitled to a wide array of supports, resources and opportunities to ensure permanency in their lives. We believe that all young people in foster care need: Compassionate, committed adults who are willing to be life...