The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the report Housing for Youth Aging Out of Care in May 2014. This report details the housing challenges that youth who age out of the foster care system face. According to the report, several regional studies have shown that between 11 and 37 percent of these youth have experienced homelessness, while 25 to 50 percent have experienced housing instability (e.g. couch surfing, doubling up, eviction). A 2012 survey of homeless youth in Minnesota (conducted by Wilder Research) found that 35 percent had lived in a foster home, and 16 percent had left a social service placement within the past 12 months.

The authors outline four policies and programs that have been implemented in the past thirty years that are designed to help youth transition to adulthood:

  1. Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008: Extends the eligibility for Title IV-E funding for youth in the foster care system until the age of 21, as long as they meet certain criteria. To date, not all states have implemented this policy.
  2. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program: Provides funding to youth for independent living services; however, states may only use up to thirty percent of funds for costs related to housing.
  3. Transitional Living Program: Funds are provided to youth ages 16-21 for longer term housing and supportive services.
  4. Education and Training Voucher Program: Provides youth who qualify to receive Chafee funds with up to 5,000 dollars per year to attend a qualified postsecondary institution. This stipend can be used for housing.

The article also outlines HUD’s key programs and policies that are designed to provide this population with housing support. These programs can be combined with other programs in most states.

  1. Public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV): This program was previously known as Section 8. Through this program, tenants typically have their rent subsidized to thirty percent of their adjusted gross income. Each public housing authority may give preference to former foster youth. Unfortunately, the waiting list in many communities in the US is often very long or even closed. Typically, this program does not combine the voucher with housing supports that youth formerly in foster care often need.
  2. Continuum of Care: HUD awards competitive annual grants to local agencies across the US that address homelessness through various coordinated processes in the community.
  3. Family Unification Program (FUP): FUP is a relatively small HCV program. As of fall 2013, 242 PHAs administered approximately 20,500 FUP vouchers. The primary focus of the program is to subsidize housing for families who are at imminent risk of having their children placed in out-of-home care due to lack of adequate housing. FUP may also be utilized by youth who left foster care at age 16 or older who do not have adequate housing. The report notes that though FUP has shown good results for supporting these youth, the program is not widely used for youth.

The report discusses the promise of the Family Unification Program in supporting former foster youth. Public child welfare agencies, or the partners with whom they contract, are required to offer supportive services to all youth who receive the FUP voucher. The purpose of providing these services to youth is to help youth develop the skills necessary to live independently. The supportive services include (but are not limited to) money management training, proper nutrition, employment counseling, and how to work with landlords to help youth obtain and keep their housing while receiving the voucher and afterwards.

The authors note that the program has limited vouchers to allocate toward the families and youth whom the program serves. Additionally, the FUP voucher for former foster youth limits the use of the voucher to 18 months and is only for youth ages 18-21. Vouchers previously used by youth do not necessarily get re-allocated to other youth as they can also go to families. Families, on the other hand, do not have time limits; thus the turnover for families receiving this voucher is much lower than it is for youth. Due to these constraints, currently only 14 percent of households who receive the voucher are former foster youth.

There are various other promising programs discussed within the report that are specific to communities and states across the U.S., including Restoration Gardens (Baltimore, MD), Youth Moving On (Pasadena, CA), and Transitional Housing Program for Emancipated Foster Youth (CA). These programs also couple housing assistance with supportive services for former foster youth.

Impact on Child Welfare

Numerous empirical research articles have been published in the past decade that detail the negative experiences faced by youth who have emancipated from foster care without the supports needed to transition successfully. The negative outcomes that are often associated with this transition include:

  • Increased risk of involvement in the criminal justice system
  • Increased risk of becoming homeless
  • Increased risk to experience unplanned pregnancy
  • Reduced likelihood of completing high school
  • Reduced likelihood of attending and graduating from college

Research has also shown that there are benefits to having safe and stable housing:

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[I]n addition to meeting the basic human need for shelter, housing that is safe and stable can function as a platform that promotes positive outcomes across a range of domains from education to employment to physical and mental health” (p. 2).

By increasing access to housing support and supportive services for youth aging out of foster care, the authors of this report hope to help youth overcome some of these negative outcomes.