From the Introduction
This paper offers recommendations for child welfare professionals, caregivers and systems to use this research to work effectively with youth in or emerging from foster care in the four focus areas of the Jim Casey Initiative’s work — permanence, educational attainment and economic security, stable housing and supports for young parents. While most of our recommendations are for individuals working with young people — child welfare caseworkers and service providers, judges, lawyers, caregivers, teachers, coaches and mentors — systems and organizations are key to supporting these practices on a broad scale. Success in these focus areas requires that child welfare and related systems make five key changes. We hope they will use this paper as a roadmap to do so:
- Train and equip practitioners to understand the role of trauma and racism, and employ effective practices to help young people understand their experiences and develop effective strate - gies for healing and growth.
- Prioritize legal permanency for all youth. This requires creating an intentional, deliberate culture of recognizing and advocating against old attitudes and assumptions, as well as stereotypes that have often negatively affected reunification, the type of home where a child is placed, adoption and length of stay for older youth and youth of color. Use disaggregated data and racial impact analysis tools to hold the system accountable and develop strategies for improvement.
- Understand that foster care carries a level of stigma, affecting successful educational outcomes and opportunities for employment. Promote a range of career pathways, from student leadership opportunities to community service, job shadowing and internships, and build connections with guidance counselors and coaches to create on-ramps to college and a career.
- Build connections with local housing providers to ensure ade - quate and safe housing for youth while encouraging youth choice and voice.
- Understand that race and ethnicity stubbornly remain predictors of where one can live and be accepted by the local community. Understand that young parents and their children are both in important stages of their brain develop - ment. Support practitioners to help young parents continue to make progress toward their educational and employment goals, build self-sufficiency, maintain healthy relationships and support them as the primary nurturers of their children.
