Transition-age foster youth are young people between 16 and 25 years old who are transitioning out of the foster care system and into adulthood. Many of them are not prepared to live independently or have a strong support system to lean on. They may need help with finding stable housing or employment, paying for college, and curating supportive relationships they can rely on. Youth aging out of care could also be experiencing trauma and other challenges in addition to these transitions. We speak with Amy Dworsky and Liz Squibb about the common obstacles foster youth face as they age out of care, and actions we can take to better support youth and families.

What happens after foster youth age out of care? What supports do they need to thrive as adults?

Guest speaker 1: Amy Dworsky, Senior Research Fellow, Chapin Hall

Guest speaker 2: Liz Squibb, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy

Interviewer: Dr. Joseph Bishop, Executive Director & co-founder, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

Among Us is a podcast by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Geneva Sum is the host and Creative Director. Joseph Bishop is the Interviewer. Elizabeth Windom is the Supervising Producer. Julia Windom is the Editor. Caitlyn McAloon is the Production Coordinator. J Woodward is the Senior Producer. Among Us is produced by Windhaven Productions and Bluejay Atlantic.

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Show Notes:

• Youth in Transition (Aging Out)
• Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 26 (Courtney, et al., 2011).
• Foster(ing) Youth in the California State University: Understanding the Vital Role of Campus Support Programs (UCLA CTS report, 2023).
• FUP (Family Unification Program)
• FYI (Foster Youth to Independence) Program
• Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative
• Child Tax Credit

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Nationally, only 3 out of 100 foster youth graduate with a bachelor's degree by age 26. Recent legislation in some states aims to increase this number by covering the full cost of in-state college attendance. However, students with foster care experience need a tremendous amount of support beyond financial aid to thrive in college and beyond, in areas such as life skills, housing and finances, self-care, and dependable relationships with trusted adults. Scholars Kizzy Lopez and Nate Okpych join us to uplift the real barriers that foster youth face in accessing higher education, navigating college and campus life, and support programs that some campuses offer for foster youth.

How can we create better pathways for foster youth to attend college and support them through their college years?

Guest speaker 1: Kizzy Lopez, Director of Student Success, Basic Needs & Retention, Fresno City College; former Program Coordinator, Renaissance Scholars Program, California State University, Fresno

Guest speaker 2: Nate Okpych, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut School of Social Work

Interviewer: Audra Langley, Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Health Sciences, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics; Director, UCLA TIES for Families; Co-Director, UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families; Faculty Advisory Board member, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

Among Us is a podcast by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Geneva Sum is the host and Creative Director. Audra Langley is the Interviewer. Elizabeth Windom is the Supervising Producer. Julia Windom is the Editor. Caitlyn McAloon is the Production Coordinator. J Woodward is the Senior Producer. Among Us is produced by Windhaven Productions and Bluejay Atlantic.

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Follow CTS or share your thoughts with us at ctschools@ucla.edu.

Show Notes:

• 3% of foster youth graduate with a bachelor’s degree by age 26
• Foster Youth Campus Support Programs in California
• UCLA CTS report, Foster(ing) Youth in the California State University: Understanding the Vital Role of Campus Support Programs
• John Burton Advocates for Youth
• Post-Secondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Youth With Foster Care Backgrounds
• National Research Collaborative for Foster Alumni and Higher Education
• Californians For Justice

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Foster youth tend to have a rough time in school. They are more likely to change homes and schools multiple times midyear, and can miss a lot of classes for reasons beyond their control. We spoke to foster youth advocate Dylan Tatom, who shared her educational experiences as a foster student and how she discovered her voice. La Shona Jenkins, who leads foster youth educational services for Los Angeles County, expressed the importance of cross-sector collaboration and supporting each foster student’s unique needs.

How can schools holistically support students in foster care?

Guest speaker 1: Dylan Tatom, Youth Advisory Board Member, The Center for Fair Futures

Guest speaker 2: La Shona Jenkins, Project Director, Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program, Los Angeles County Office of Education

Interviewer: Joseph Bishop, Executive Director & co-founder, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

Among Us is a podcast by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Geneva Sum is the host and Creative Director. Joseph Bishop is the Interviewer. Elizabeth Windom is the Supervising Producer. Julia Windom is the Editor. Caitlyn McAloon is the Production Coordinator. J Woodward is the Senior Producer. Among Us is produced by Windhaven Productions and Bluejay Atlantic.

Join the CTS mailing list

Follow CTS or share your thoughts with us at ctschools@ucla.edu.

Show Notes:

• Fair Futures Youth Advisory Board
• Annie E. Casey Foundation Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative
• LACOE's Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program (FYSCP)
• Department of Children and Family Services
• AB 130
• Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act

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Involvement in the foster care system is not random. Racism and social inequities are both reflected in and actively shape our foster care system that’s largely comprised of Black and Brown youth experiencing poverty. Foster care abolitionist Dorothy Roberts talks about the “family policing system” that is tied to historically oppressive and harmful practices, including slavery and the carceral system, and inflicts trauma on communities of color. Tamara Hunter, a foster care systems leader for Los Angeles County, champions a shift from mandated reporting to mandated supporting, and the need for a “third option” beyond either reporting or not reporting. What is the “foster care-to-prison pipeline,” and how are Black children being funneled into it? How can we build pathways to support mandated reporters, like teachers and health care professionals, to connect families with resources?

Guest 1: Dorothy Roberts, Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Penn Program on Race, Science, and Society, author of Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families–and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World

Guest 2: Tamara Hunter, Interim Executive Director, Los Angeles County Prevention and Promotion Systems Governing Committee

Interviewer: Tyrone C. Howard, Pritzker Family Professor of Education to Strengthen Children & Families, School of Education & Information Studies; Director, Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families; Faculty Co-Director, Center for the Transformation of Schools, UCLA

Show Notes:

• Foster Care to Prison Pipeline
• Torn Apart and Shattered Bonds by Dorothy Roberts
• “53% of black children will undergo a child welfare investigation before they reach age 18.” Kim, H., Wildeman, C., Jonson-Reid, M., & Drake B., 2017. Lifetime prevalence of investigating child maltreatment among US children. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5227926/
• Prevention and Promotion Systems Governing Committee (PPSGC) in LA County
• Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)
• “90% of reports made by school personnel were unsubstantiated when it came to any cases of neglect or abuse.” Fong, K., 2020. Getting eyes in the home: Child protective services investigations and state surveillance of family life. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122420938460?journalCode=asra
• upEND Movement

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Foster students face unique challenges in and out of the classroom and they deserve more of our attention. Leading education scholars Tyrone Howard, Joseph Bishop, and Angela James discuss the intersections of foster care with poverty, systemic racism, homelessness, punitive discipline, and the carceral system. Who is responsible for the well-being of foster youth? How can schools more equitably support students, no matter their circumstances?

Host: Geneva Sum, Communications Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

Roundtable:

• Tyrone C. Howard, Pritzker Family Professor of Education to Strengthen Children & Families, UCLA School of Education & Information Studies; Faculty Co-Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools
• Joseph P. Bishop, Executive Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools
• Angela James, Senior Research Scientist, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

Among Us is a podcast by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Geneva Sum is the host, Creative Director and this episode’s interviewer. Elizabeth Windom is the Supervising Producer. Julia Windom is the Editor. Caitlyn McAloon is the Production Coordinator. J Woodward is the Senior Producer. Among Us is produced by Windhaven Productions and Bluejay Atlantic.

Join the UCLA CTS mailing list.

Follow CTS or share your thoughts with us at ctschools@ucla.edu.

Show Notes:

• Our Children Can’t Wait by Joseph Bishop
• Lost Instruction Time in California Schools: The Disparate Harm from Post-Pandemic Punitive Suspensions. The UCLA Civil Rights Project.
• Child Welfare, Public Health and Domestic Violence. The UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families.
• The California Community Schools Partnership Program
• UCLA CTS foster youth studies
• CA SB 307 – Fostering Futures: Increasing access and improving college affordability for foster youth

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