Providing Youth Aging out of Foster Care with Essential Support & Services in New York City
By Aimee McPhail, Research Analyst
Local, youth-focused programs in New York City are important in supporting young people as they transition out of foster care and into adulthood. Graham Windham’s Support Lead Achieve Model (SLAM) and The Door’s Manhattan Academy Plus (MAP) offered youth aging out of foster care flexible and personalized programming through mentorship and youth-driven services.
Each year, hundreds of youth in New York City exit foster care without permanent living arrangements – a majority of whom are youth of color. Research shows that a network of social support and positive role models are key to the well-being of youth as they transition from adolescence to adulthood, but many youth in foster care have limited opportunities to develop these supportive relationships. Additionally, older youth in the these systems often have experienced complex traumas (e.g., abuse, neglect).[1] Taken together, youth aging out of foster care are at an increased risk of several significant challenges, including unemployment, homelessness, mental health diagnoses, and criminal legal system involvement.[2][3]
Over the years, initiatives across NYC have worked to lower the number of youth aging out of foster care without permanent living arrangements, and to provide additional support to those who do. Through our partnership with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) began funding two local programs to support foster youth transitioning to adulthood in 2018. Graham Windham’s Support Lead Achieve Model (SLAM) program provided intensive coaching to help connect young people with educational and employment supports and build a long-term plan towards living wage careers. The Door’s Manhattan Academy Plus (MAP) program connected young people to a suite of resources and provided career and education services, housing support, and health and mental health counseling.
Findings from an outcome evaluation of the initiative and an earlier process evaluation report, conducted by Action Research through the CJII support, documents how The Door’s MAP program and Graham SLAM supported hundreds of young people nearing or already transitioning into adulthood. The findings also highlight the importance of continued evaluation of other foster youth-focused programs to learn more information on how to improve the lives of young people.
Hundreds of Foster Youth Transitioning to Adulthood Connected to Services
Over the course of the study period—which ranged from 2018 to 2022 for The Door and to 2021 for Graham SLAM —The Door program enrolled 521 youth and Graham SLAM enrolled 228 youth aging out of foster care. Most participants identified as Black Non-Hispanic and as female. The youth enrolled at Graham SLAM were slightly younger—on average, roughly 18 years old—compared to youth at The Door youth, who were roughly 20 years old. These youth reported spending between 7 and 8 years in foster care. The most common services received at The Door included housing case management, health services, work readiness, and basic needs (e.g., food, clothing). These youth also accessed legal services, employment training, job placements, counseling, and a myriad of other services (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The Door Youth Active in or Discharged From Foster Care Enrolled During 2018-2022, by Service Type (n=521)
Youth enrolled at Graham SLAM received similar types of services facilitated by frequent contact with their coaches, in addition to college readiness, group therapy, and recreational opportunities.
Understanding Outcomes in the Context of COVID-19 and Increased FYTA Services Across the City
Action Research’s outcome evaluation matched program participants to similar non-participants to assess whether program enrollment was associated with better outcomes. Surprisingly, Action Research found no statistically significant differences between these two groups on outcome measures related to employment, legal system involvement, homelessness, or receiving cash assistance through NYC’s Human Resources Administration.
A few factors may help explain these findings. First, the COVID-19 pandemic overlapped with both the program and outcomes period of this study, which included reduced legal system involvement and employment for New Yorkers broadly. The neighborhoods in which many of these youth reside also suffered from COVID-19 at higher rates than others, and the pandemic had a widespread negative impact on young people in general, which collectively may have diluted the expected benefit of the programs or reduced the ability to detect it. Second, there has been a sizeable increase in resources directed toward foster youth transitioning to adulthood since DANY’s initial funding in 2018. Most prominently, the Fair Futures initiative—which includes components modeled after Graham SLAM—directed $70 million toward programming for foster youth. Accordingly, the comparison group youth may have received services not all that different from the program group in this study, thereby resulting in no outcome differences between the groups. Nevertheless, Action Research’s evaluation shows that DANY’s FYTA initiative offered highly valued support to hundreds of transition-age youth, and recommends continued support to ensure youth aging out of foster are equipped with the necessary resources and skills to be successful as they transition to adulthood.
About the Program and Evaluation
The Door and Graham Windham, under the FYTA initiative, supported youth aging out of foster care by providing access to important services and the ability to develop supportive relationships. As a result, these youth may be better equipped to navigate their transition into adulthood.
Findings from the evaluation, including program outcomes, are available here. For additional information, an earlier mid-evaluation report describing the process evaluation findings is available here.
About the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) focuses on three investment areas—crime prevention, diversion and reentry, and supports for survivors of crime. The FYTA initiative and this evaluation were funded through CJII’s crime prevention-focused investments in Youth, Families, and Communities.
The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance manages and provides technical assistance to CJII contractors, and conducts oversight and performance measurement throughout the lifetime of the initiative.
[1] Greeson, J.K., Brigg, E.C., Kisiel, C.L., Layne, C.M., Ake III, G.S., Ko, S.J., …& Fairbank, J.A. (2011). Complex trauma and mental health in children and adolescents placed in foster care: Findings from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Child Welfare, 90(6), 91.
[2] Courtney, M. E., & Dworsky A. (2006). Early outcomes for young adults transitioning from out‐of‐home care in the USA. Child & Family Social Work, 11(3), 209–219.
[3] Rosenberg, R., & Kim, Y. (2018). Aging out of foster care: Homelessness, post-secondary education, and employment. Journal of public child welfare, 12(1), 99-115.
Photo by Gabriel O. on Adobe Stock.