Introduction
Older youth in foster care face many stressors and obstacles that are unique to their situation, most notably the recurring transitions they endure. The original transition from biological home to foster care can be traumatic in the life of adolescents, for whom identity formation is still a major life task (ACS-NYU Children's Trauma Institute, 2012; Mitchell & Kuczynski, 2010). As many as 20,000 youth per year will remain in care until they age out of the system and are launched into this significant developmental milestone, not by their parents but rather by the child welfare system (Children's Bureau, 2016a). Thirty percent of children in care are 13 years or older and nearly a nearly a quarter (26%) of all children currently in care were placed during their adolescent years (Children's Bureau, 2016a). As such, providers must often work to prepare older youth for their transition out of foster care while they are still trying to adjust to their transition into care.
The Bridges Transitions Framework (Bridges, 2009) implemented in this study shows some promise in smoothing foster youth reactions to change. The framework was adapted to help older youth, foster parents, and social workers look beyond the concrete goals of independent living (e.g., housing, employment). It is process-oriented and attends to the psycho-social reactions and emotions that youth experience during times of significant change. The framework as applied here provided knowledge, skills, and new tactics for youth, foster parents, and social workers to prepare youth for discharge to independent living (Bridges, 2009; Van Ryzin, Mills, Kelban, Vars, & Chamberlain, 2011). When youth and foster parents understand why youth exhibit certain responses to change, both parties have the opportunity to recognize and avert potential triggers. As such, the framework offers the potential to bring new understanding of otherwise challenging behaviors.