Youth Transitioning from Foster Care
About the Project
In 2002 the American Bar Association House of Delegates urged Congress and state and territorial legislatures to enact laws that provide youth in foster care full access, up to 21, to independent and transitional living services and health care, and we also urged state and territorial legislatures to permit the extension of jurisdiction of dependency courts over youth transitioning from foster care until age 21, when appropriate, to ensure that youth have access to the court, and to legal and social services through the court. We further encouraged states to fully implement the provisions of the federal Foster Care Independence Act, including implementation of the Medicaid expansion option, and the ABA pledged to work to ensure that youth transitioning out of foster care have access to competent counsel who can advocate for necessary services and safeguards.
In 2006, an invitational conference held to help ABA President Karen
Mathis plan for her ABA Youth At Risk Initiative determined that one
of the initiative's focus areas would be assisting youth who are "aging
out" of foster care. At age 18, many youth are forced out of
their foster homes, and the assistance of child welfare agencies may
stop. Far more needs to be done to help 18 to 21 year olds get the
support they need to establish themselves as productive and responsible
adults. Lawyers should work to help them get needed support to establish
themselves as productive and responsible adults through examining
law reform, changes in juvenile and family court jurisdiction and
practice, improved educational opportunities, and enhanced legal advocacy
for them.
As a first step in the American Bar Association becoming more active
in the area of youth transitioning from foster care, the director
of the ABA Center on Children and the Law has conducted research on
innovative law and policy related to this issue.
The following link is to a Center paper that addresses the issue of
post-18 juvenile court jurisdiction over youth in foster care. Traditionally,
juvenile courts lost jurisdiction over cases when a young person reached
their 18th birthday. However, many states have amended their laws
to explicitly provide for continuing court jurisdiction over a youth
age 18 and older if they remain in the child welfare system's care.
Additional Center on Children and the Law research on post-18 court involvement of transitioning youth is also included in the following Power Point presentation.
A 151-page 2004 publication specifically for lawyers and judges, entitled "Improving
Outcomes for Older Youth," developed by Center on Children and the Law
attorneys Kathleen McNaught and Lauren Onkeles, is available from the National
Resource Center for Youth Development for free download (or, call 918/660-3700
to receive a bound copy for $15.00 plus shipping and handling).
To give us input, e-mail the Center on Children and the Law at ctrchildlaw@abanet.org
