Report from CalYOUTH: Findings on the Relationship Between Extended Foster Care and Youth’s Outcomes at Age 21
The federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering Connections Act) was, to a large extent, based on the belief that allowing youth in foster care to remain in care past their 18th birthday would improve their outcomes as adults. Research conducted prior to the passage of the Fostering Connections Act provided early evidence on the impact of extended foster care (EFC) on youth outcomes, finding that time in EFC promoted educational attainment, increased earnings, and decreased instances of homelessness and criminal justice involvement. An earlier report from the ongoing California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH) found EFC to be associated with improved educational attainment, increased financial assets, reduced receipt of need-based public aid, and decreased homelessness, economic hardship, and criminal justice system involvement. The present report builds on that prior research by examining outcomes from the third interview wave of CalYOUTH, which took place when study participants were 21 years old or older.