The Foundation focuses its work on several priorities, one of which is foster youth. The foundation works with partners to help transition-age foster youth in Los Angeles and New York City find their path to success. The Hilton Foundation works with partners to support foster youth as they emerge into adulthood, strengthen the systems that provide services to youth in care, and research best practices and needs in the field of child welfare.

The foundation highlights three key initiatives in its approach to working with foster youth:

• Increasing transition age youth self-sufficiency through improved college and career readiness, stronger caregivers, and special services for the most vulnerable youth
• Strengthening collaboration and alignment across the systems that influence foster youth outcomes
• Developing and disseminating knowledge for the field

Special attention is warranted for two particularly vulnerable sub-populations: pregnant and parenting foster youth, and foster youth who cross over into the juvenile justice system.

The Foundation’s strategy directly addresses the challenges foster youth face as they age out of the system, by supporting both programs that meet the needs of particularly vulnerable foster youth, and programs that give all foster youth the skills and support they need to succeed. In addition to this programmatic work, the Foundation supports collaboration and coordination across the systems and organizations that influence outcomes for transition age youth.