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Department

Sociology

Disciplines

Sociology

Abstract

This study will analyze the issues surrounding the "aging out" of young adults in the foster care system in the United States by focusing on data from three locations: England’s Child Welfare System, Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare, and Texas’s Department of Family and Protective Services. The study looks to current research to describe the resources needed to help foster youth achieve self-sufficiency and finds that youth need social support, financial support, healthcare, mental health resources, housing resources, substance abuse treatment, educational resources, legal assistance, employment stability, and assistance with child care. In order to measure the transitional resources being provided to foster youth, a Self-Sufficiency Matrix is utilized. This research is a comparative study that intends to describe the different types of transitional resources provided to youth transitioning out of the foster care system in Idaho, Texas, and England. Four main themes emerged from this research: better communication, gradual transition, building long lasting relationships, and collaboration with transitioning foster youth.

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Sociology Commons

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Faculty Mentor

Dr. Robert McCarl