Foster Care Experiences of Youth in Preparation for Independent Living and Their Policy Implications

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with youth living on their own who have had firsthand experience growing up in foster family settings, this article identifies issues in foster care that need addressing and discusses what needs to be done to better support the healthy development of foster care children. The interviewees’ experiences cover various aspects of foster care life: placement with foster families, transitioning between families, access to placement support and case management services (or lack thereof), returning to their biological families, and navigating crisis situations. We discuss the issues and limitations of the current foster family system and present the need for establishing, as part of case management, monitoring of changes in the lives of children in foster care and enhancing accessibility to support services.