Resilience factors in youth transitioning out of foster care: A systematic review

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Policies and Interventions that Improve Health, Psychosocial, and Economic Outcomes for Young People Leaving the Out-of-Home Care System

Young people who transition to adulthood from out-of-home care (OOHC) are more likely to experience a range of poorer outcomes relative to their same-age peers in the community. This systematic review assessed the effectiveness of policies or interventions (hereafter "interventions") aimed at improving housing, health, education, economic, and psychosocial outcomes for youth leaving OOHC (hereafter "care leavers"). Eleven databases of published literature were reviewed along with gray literature. Eligible studies used randomized or quasi-experimental designs and assessed interventions that provided support to care leavers prior to, during, or after they left OOHC. Primary outcomes were housing and homelessness, health and well-being, education, economic and employment, criminal and delinquent behavior, and risky behavior, while secondary outcomes were supportive relationships and life skills. Where possible, results were pooled in a meta-analysis. Certainty of evidence was assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation. Fourteen studies published in 27 reports were identified that examined independent living programs (ILPs) (n = 5), intensive support services (n = 2), coaching and peer support (C&PSP) (n = 2), transitional housing (n = 1), health information or coaching (n = 2), and extended care (n = 2). All but one study was conducted in the United States. Twenty small meta-analyses were undertaken encompassing ILPs and C&PSP, with two showing results that favored the intervention with certainty. The level of confidence in each meta-analysis was considered very low. A significant risk of bias was identified in each of the included studies. While some interventions showed promise, particularly extended care, the scope and strength of included evidence is insufficient to recommend any included approach.

"We are not our case files": A qualitative analysis of child welfare professionals' relationships with young adults with foster care experience

BACKGROUND

Young adults of color with foster care experience are disproportionately represented in foster care in the United States. Developing meaningful connections with child welfare professionals can help young adults develop healthy relationships in emerging adulthood.

OBJECTIVE

This exploratory qualitative study addressed how young adults with foster care experience described their relationships with child welfare professionals and the impact of these relationships on their overall mental health and well-being in young adulthood.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A sample of young adults of color, (ages 18-29) with lived experience in foster care from a performing arts program in New York City.

METHODS

Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on 14 semi-structured interviews with young adults of color with prior or ongoing foster care experience.

RESULTS

The following themes were identified: safe space to be myself, listen to more than words, and understand my trauma. Child welfare professionals were dropped from support networks if they were disingenuous or did not attend to their own self-care needs.

CONCLUSIONS

The study underscores the importance of promoting positive mental health outcomes for young adults through building stronger connections with child welfare professionals. Future research should explore the incorporation of individualized approaches to better serve this population of young adults.

Multisystemic approaches to researching young people's resilience: Discovering culturally and contextually sensitive accounts of thriving under adversity

As our understanding of the process of resilience has become more culturally and contextually grounded, researchers have had to seek innovative ways to account for the complex, reciprocal relationship between the many systems that influence young people's capacity to thrive. This paper briefly traces the history of a more contextualized understanding of resilience and then reviews a social-ecological model to explain multisystemic resilience. A case study is then used to show how a multisystemic understanding of resilience can influence the design and implementation of resilience research. The Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments study is a longitudinal mixed methods investigation of adolescents and emerging adults in communities that depend on oil and gas industries in Canada and South Africa. These communities routinely experience stress at individual, family, and institutional levels from macroeconomic factors related to boom-and-bust economic cycles. Building on the project's methods and findings, we discuss how to create better studies of resilience which are able to capture both emic and etic accounts of positive developmental processes in ways that avoid the tendency to homogenize children's experience. Limitations to doing multisystemic resilience research are also highlighted, with special attention to the need for further innovation.

Meeting the Mental Health Needs of College Students with a Background in Foster Care

Many colleges and universities are creating campus-based programs to support students with a background in foster care. When considering the histories of trauma experienced by these young people, meeting mental health needs is an important part of a portfolio of services. ASuPIRE is a strengths-based, trauma-informed counseling program that was designed to respond to the unique needs of college students who aged-out and/or experienced foster care at any point across their development. This program can stand alone or can be used to supplement campus-based support programs. This approach, including its theoretical framework and related interventions, will be described. A case study is also provided to illustrate the model for other post-secondary institutions interested in adopting this approach.