Memo from CalYOUTH: Foster Youths’ Roles and Satisfaction Related to the Planning of their Transitions to Independent Adulthood
Youth participation is the involvement of youth in the decisions related to their lives. For youth in foster care, this process is formalized through case planning that occurs between the youth, a child welfare worker, and other key players involved with the case. Studies find that actively engaging the youth and sharing power in the decision-making process can be beneficial to foster youth. Several federal laws have been enacted over the past three decades that specify parameters for foster youth participation in the development of their transitional independent living plan (TILP). While federal legislation increasingly encourages the active engagement of foster youth in case planning and decision making, we still have limited understanding of youths’ experiences with this engagement. This memo investigates (1) youths’ roles in and satisfaction with their transition-planning process, and (2) factors that are associated with youths’ case-planning involvement and satisfaction, including both characteristics of the youth and of the counties in which they are placed.