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Many youth, prior to being emancipated from the child care system, are referred to Transitional and Independent Living Services. These youth experience a variety of hardships after emancipation, however, hardships such as unemployment, housing difficulties, poor health care, ongoing struggles with mental illness, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, and incarceration. The purpose of Independent Living Services is to buffer youth against such outcomes by empowering them to become self-sufficient; something that is accomplished through the provision of employment and educational support, housing services, and Life Skills Training. Research suggests that youth serviced in Transitional and Independent Living Services are indeed better prepared after emancipation than youth who do not receive these services. Assessing such youth progress, however, has traditionally relied on pilot or retrospective studies which, although comprehensive, often lack a subjective understanding of this phenomenon. This phenomenological study examined the improved outcomes experienced by emancipated youth after being serviced in Independent Living Services by exploring the experiences of the program Directors responsible for the daily operations of Transitional and Independent Living Programming. Five experienced and knowledgeable Transitional and Independent Living Program Directors were specifically selected because of their subjective understanding of the outcomes and trends experienced by foster youth. The program Directors offered their experiences, via interviews, that were later analyzed by means of a content analysis to construct the meaning or themes relevant to their experiences of serving adolescents emancipating from care. A content analysis revealed four themes: gate keeping, self-sufficiency, program development, and aftercare. Results are presented in a manner that will help other field professionals understand the subjective challenges and experiences facing Transitional Independent Living Program Directors as well as provide insight into the role Independent Living Services have in youth outcomes.
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of foster youth who aged out of foster care and enrolled in higher educational programs in rural areas of southern Virginia. The theory that guided this study was Maslow's hierarchy of needs as it applied to higher educational pursuits of foster youth who had, or were about to, age out of foster care. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory also guided this study to identify additional barriers to higher education for foster youth. This phenomenological study used a transcendental research method. Data collection methods included face-to-face and phone interviews, focus groups, participant captions for picture cards, and data from intake documents and school records that provided accurate demographic information. Interviews and focus groups were conducted primarily by phone while captions, demographics, and consent were compiled through email, postal service, and participating school records. Moustakas' modified method was used to analyze data for this study. The central research question for consideration was as follows: What are the lived experiences of foster youth who have aged out of foster care and enrolled in community college? The 12 participants for this study shared their unique life experiences as they aged out of foster care and enrolled in higher education programs. While the participants' educational barriers differed to some degree, one commonality each faced was the lack of a dependable adult role model for encouragement and support. The impact of this missing element was evident in the life-choices of participants.
This study incorporated descriptive research methods and correlational research methods to explore possible relationships between independence-responsibility and resiliency. The researcher administered the Resiliency Scales for Adolescents (RSA) to foster
For many of America's youth, completing high school and moving forward with post-secondary education is a natural path for successful living. Unfortunately, many youth in foster care experience a variety of challenges that prevent them from completing high school, entering and/or completing post-secondary education, and leading successful independent lives. This phenomenological study explored the essence of the lived experiences of youth who have aged out of foster care and have succeeded academically. The phenomenological approach allows the voices of the youth who have aged out of foster care to be heard. This study followed three streams: lived experiences, social support, and transitional support collaboratively leading youth who have aged out of foster care to academic success. In an effort to understand the experience through the eyes of those most directly affected and represented by the foster care system, phenomenology, a philosophical method that studies the pure science of a phenomenon, was the chosen methodology. Allowing youth who have aged out of foster care the opportunity to share their experiences as they recall them offers a pure account of their experiences as they happened without any bias or prejudice displayed. Primary findings of this research were that those who spend time within the foster care system are a part of a stand-alone community governed by its own set of rules, standards, and values; relationships with others played a vital role in their academic success; internal and external motivators were necessary for completing high school and moving forward with post-secondary education, and the realization that it takes a village to raise a child, shows the value in the communal effort for taking special care of this population of youth. As a result of these findings, recommendations were made. There are recommendations for social services and lawmakers to level the playing field so that all youth in foster care will have access to the same standard of care; provide and market more realistic support from post-secondary programs and schools; standardize group home academic programs, and increase in-home visits to ensure that every child's basic needs are met within the foster care system.
When foster youth emancipate from the child welfare system they no longer have professionals overseeing decisions about contact with their biological parents. While there is a general awareness in the field of child welfare that former foster youth often do choose to reconnect with their biological parents as adults, there has been scant research investigating former foster youths' lived experiences of contact with them. Little is known about the potential functions of these relationships as sources of support, conflict, healing, or resilience. Without an understanding of how decisions about contact are made, and how such contact impacts their lives, it is not possible to assess how prepared, or unprepared, emancipated youth are when they leave the child welfare system to negotiate these relationships in whatever manner is most beneficial to them. This qualitative study utilized interpretative phenomenological analysis in order to describe the experiences of a small sample (N = 8) of emancipated youth. This research also investigated the potential for theories of emerging adulthood, attachment and ambiguous loss, and resilience to contribute to a theoretical framework that could aid in understanding their experiences and decision making processes with regards to their relationships with their biological parents. Data were collected primarily via two rounds of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and topics explored included descriptions of contact, ways in which relationships with biological parents served as supports and challenges, how emancipated youth made sense of their decisions about contact, identity development, forgiveness, and closure. Overall, participants described their biological parents as still struggling with the issues that led to foster care placement, and their relationships with them were often both supportive and challenging in different respects. For some, having children of their own had changed their relationships with their biological parents in rather complex ways. Despite the presence of difficulties in many of their relationships, participants expressed a great deal of empathy for their biological parents. Many had gone through a process of forgiveness in order to move on from the past. Practice implications and the applicability of theories of emerging adulthood, ambiguous loss, and resilience were also explored.
Each year, growing numbers of black foster youth, ages 18 and older, are emancipated from the child welfare system. Prior to termination, they are provided with a montage of independent living services aimed at teaching self-sufficiency skills. Nevertheless, many of these youth find themselves alone without the necessary aptitude, resources, and support needed to assume the intimidating responsibilities of adulthood. Although the literature regarding emancipated youth and their outcomes is extensive, there has been minimal research conducted on the unique experiences of Black youth as well as the factors that contribute to their success or failure in their transition to independence. Further, the information regarding their outcomes has been garnered from foster parents, case managers, attorneys, and family members, while failing to incorporate the voices of the youth who are best able to articulate the obstacles they encounter. This qualitative study examines the lives and experiences of eight black former foster youth. Audiotaped semi-structured interviews were conducted for the study. Data analysis took place throughout the data collection process. Their distinctive experiences, from their early childhood experiences that lead to placement in foster care, as well as their emancipation from care and subsequent road to independence are chronicled through their voices. Findings uncovered four themes: 1) child maltreatment, 2) unresolved trauma, 3) need for a sense of belonging, and 4) lack of preparation for adulthood. These themes represent the stumbling blocks of the participants’ past that continue to influence their life paths. This study enhances our understanding of the experiences of black aged out foster youth and the many challenges they face on their road to adulthood. Their individual stories raise poignant questions about the impact and efficacy of the foster care system on the lives of our most vulnerable youth.