On April 18 – 19, 2016, the New York University’s Silver School of Social Work will host the conference ‘Making Extended Care Work for Foster Youth: The State of the Evidence.’ The conference will highlight new groundbreaking research on extending services for foster care youth as they become adults, while also featuring panels on the core developmental needs for all young adults to thrive in society, work, school, health, living arrangements, and social relationships among others. The conference was designed to highlight panels on each topic area which will include brief presentations from stakeholder groups (e.g., model program leaders, researchers, policymakers, and young people), followed by conversations with the audience around key questions and strategies to move forward services and ultimately lives of the young people who are transitioning from care to increased independence.
Leadership in the field of foster care youth transitioning to adulthood has led to a proliferation of research documenting the needs of this group of young people. Due to the important work of these scholars, many of whom will be speaking at this conference, the US Congress, and local and state governments have paid increasing attention to the plight of young people who are expected to ‘make it’ on their own after years of being cared for by the state. Approximately 25,000 young people age out of the foster care system a year. Until recently, these young people experienced an abrupt transition to life on their own with little resources and support. Due to the reality of this difficult transition, some states have extended care until 21 years of age so that these individuals have sustained support as they build the skills and knowledge needed to successfully transition to adulthood.
The ‘Making Extended Care Work’ Conference will convene professionals, students, advocates, media sources, researchers, and others from both states that have extended care and those who have not formally extended care to discuss critical issues surrounding this important policy and service provision issue.
The 2016 conference “Making Extended Care Work for Foster Care Youth: The State of the Evidence” will focus on key issues facing older youth and young adults who have been in foster care. The conference will focus on employment, education, health, mental health, youth voice and youth engagement in services, pregnancy and parenting, social relationships, among others. Professionals from throughout the United States will come together in New York City to build understanding, network with others, and share insights with some of the most prominent professionals working on this issue today, including Dr. Mark Courtney (Professor at the University of Chicago and Principal Investigator on the CalYOUTHstudy), Amy Dworsky (Research Fellow, Chapin Hall), Dr. Trudy Festinger (Professor of Social Work at New York University), Dr. J. Curtis McMillen (Professor at the University of Chicago), Michelle R. Munson (Associate Professor of Social Work at New York University), Dr. Michael Pergamit (Senior Research Fellow at the Urban Institute), Gladys Carrion (Commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services), and John Pinkerton (Professor, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland).