The challenge: Children who spend time in the foster youth system in the United States face significant obstacles, and those who transition out of the system as they reach adulthood have especially dire outcomes.

Foster youth often lack critical skills and supports necessary to overcome the challenges they face when they leave care. Many transition out of the foster youth system when they reach the age of 18, with no place to live, with little (if any) job experience, and lacking a meaningful connection to an adult. As a consequence, more than two-thirds receive public welfare benefits, and one quarter spend time in jail. Foster youth are less likely to graduate from high school than the general population, and although between 40 and 50 percent complete some postsecondary coursework, fewer than 11 percent obtain a degree. In addition, during the four years after leaving foster care, more than half of youth who transition out of the system have no earnings; those with earnings average an income of only $7,500 per year.

The nation’s largest foster youth population is in California, with one-third of the state’s foster youth living in Los Angeles County. New York state has the second largest population, and two-thirds of those youth live in New York City.

Investment in critical skills and supports, accompanied by increased system coordination and alignment, can help improve outcomes for youth who transition out of care.

Programs that improve college and career readiness and provide stronger caregivers for older foster youth significantly contribute to the self-sufficiency of transition-age youth. Special attention is warranted for two particularly vulnerable sub-populations:

1. Pregnant and parenting foster youth
2. Foster youth who cross over into the juvenile justice system

Foster youth well-being depends on the complex interaction of multiple systems and stakeholders, including courts, the health and education systems, and biological and foster families. Greater alignment and coordination are needed to improve youth outcomes. Los Angeles County and New York City, both county-administered systems, present unique opportunities to improve outcomes for many youth due to their large foster youth populations, momentum for reform, and strong philanthropic funding partners.

The Hilton Foundation will work with partners in Los Angeles County and New York City to help foster youth and develop knowledge for the field.

In March, the Hilton Foundation officially launched a new priority area for Foster Youth focused on Los Angeles County and New York City. Our work through partners will help impact the lives of foster youth by:

1. Increasing transition-age youth self-sufficiency through improved college and career readiness, stronger caregivers, and special services for the most vulnerable youth
2. Strengthening collaboration and alignment throughout systems influencing foster youth outcomes
3. Developing and disseminating knowledge for the field

The Foundation’s strategy will address the challenges foster youth face as they age out of the system through a two-tiered programmatic approach that addresses the needs of particularly vulnerable youth in the population and gives all foster youth the skills and support they need to succeed. Programmatic work is complemented by support for system alignment and coordination across all key organizations influencing outcomes for transition-age youth. The final piece is the development and dissemination of knowledge for practitioners and policymakers across the field to provide examples and leverage funding for improving outcomes for the rest of the nation.

About our strategy development process

In August of 2011, our board of directors reaffirmed the importance of Foster Youth as a priority for Foundation grantmaking and requested that Foundation staff develop a strategy for achieving measurable impact in this area. Consultants from FSG were brought on board to carry out a landscape research project and to outline and recommend a strategy informed by substantial input from content experts and practitioners in the field. On February 29, 2012, our board of directors approved Foster Youth as a new strategic initiative area for the Foundation.

Documentation of the research and landscape, as well as an overview of our program strategy, is available on our website.

Pictured above is Trayvon Walker. In and out of foster care since infancy, he has faced immense challenges. Now on his own without support to help him transition to adulthood, he calls for improvements to the system to help others become productive, successful citizens. Hear his story in an KPCC interview. Photo courtesy of The Alliance for Children's Rights.