Child Welfare Information Gateway
Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • Administration for Children & Families
  • Children's Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   

Home Topics Publications Library State Resources More Tools & Resources News & Events
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Free Subscriptions
  • Resources in Spanish
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Resources in Spanish
  • Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family-Centered Practice
      • Philosophy and Key Elements of Family-Centered Practice
      • Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
      • Engaging Families
      • Family-Centered Casework Practice
      • Family Group Decision-Making
      • Engaging Communities to Support Families
      • Creating a Family-Centered Agency Culture
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Risk Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
      • People Who Engage in Child Abuse or Neglect
      • Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
      • Overview: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
      • Public Awareness & Creating Supportive Communities
      • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs
      • Developing & Sustaining Prevention Programs
      • Evidence-Based Practice for Child Abuse Prevention
      • Evaluating Prevention Programs
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Introduction to Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
      • Assessment in Child Protection
      • Differential Response in Child Protective Services
      • Child Protection Casework Practice
      • Responding to Child Maltreatment Near Fatalities and Fatalities
      • Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
      • Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
      • Supporting Families With Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
      • Introduction to Family Support and Preservation
      • In-Home Services Involved With Child Protection
      • Family Support Services
      • Resources for Managers of Family Support and Preservation Services
      • Family Preservation Services
    • Out-of-Home Care
      • National Foster Care Month
      • Overview: Out-of-Home Care
      • Foster Care
      • Group and Residential Care
      • Kinship Care
      • Casework Practice in Out-of-Home Care
      • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
      • Placement Decisions
      • Resources for Foster Families
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Overview: Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific Youth Populations
      • Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
      • Interjurisdictional Placements
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families After Permanency
      • Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
      • Resources for Families About Permanency
    • Adoption
      • National Adoption Month
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
      • Introduction to Adoption
      • Ethical Issues in Adoption
      • For Adopted People
      • For Adoption Program Managers & Administrators
      • For Expectant Parents Considering Adoption and Birth Parents
      • How to Adopt
      • Laws Related to Adoption
      • Parenting After Adoption
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion in Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
      • Administering & Managing Child Welfare Agencies & Programs
      • Child Welfare Practice Improvement
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Ethical Practice & Client Rights
      • Evaluating Program and Practice Effectiveness
      • Funding
      • Information Systems & Data
      • Supervising Child Welfare Services
      • System Reform
      • Training
      • Workforce
    • Systemwide
      • Assessment
      • Behavioral Health & Wellness
      • Courts
      • Cultural Responsiveness
      • Diverse Populations and Communities
      • Domestic Violence
      • Human Trafficking
      • Laws & Policies
      • Service Array
      • Statistics
      • Well-Being
      • Youth
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Topic
    • Browse by Title
    • índice de Títulos en Español (Spanish Title Index)
  • Library
    • Library Services
    • Library Search Help
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals Search
    • State-Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Resources From the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Free Subscriptions
    • Adoption Triad
    • Children's Bureau Express (CBX)
    • The Grantee Connection
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • Home
  • Topics
  • Out-of-Home Care
  • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
  • Providing Support Services for Youth in Transition
  • Support Services for Youth in Transition: Housing

Support Services for Youth in Transition: Housing

Young people who age out of foster care may face unique obstacles as they prepare to leave care and begin their adult lives. Housing stability is particularly crucial for a young person’s success, so it is important that young people receive thoughtful transition planning and support. These resources provide strategies to help youth transitioning out of care locate and maintain safe and affordable housing. State and local examples are included.

Building Partnerships to Support Stable Housing for Child Welfare-Involved Families and Youth

Series Title
Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 318KB)
Order (Free)
Year Published
2019
Outlines affordable housing and homelessness services and how child welfare professionals can collaborate with those systems to help families. Although directed primarily at child welfare professionals, the information in this bulletin also may help housing and homelessness services providers understand the unique needs and concerns of child welfare-involved youth and families and how their programs can help." Grantee spotlight" boxes throughout the document feature examples of programs focused on child welfare and housing collaboration that were funded by the Children's Bureau within the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of the Partnerships to Demonstrate the Effectiveness of Supportive Housing for Families in the Child Welfare System (SHF) and Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH) grant clusters.

Examining a Drop-in and Case Management Model for Youth Experiencing Homelessness 
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (2022)
Assesses whether YouthLink’s enhanced and supportive case management model for youth experiencing homelessness resulted in improved outcomes over 6 years, and aspects of the model that contributed to successful intervention.

Housing
Project Life
Provides questions to help youth determine if they are prepared to find stable, affordable housing after aging out of foster care. The page also describes different types of housing resources that may be available to youth. 

HUD’s Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Provides housing assistance to youth aging out of the foster care system who are at extreme risk of homelessness. The program offers housing vouchers to public housing authorities to prevent or end homelessness for young adults under 25 who have aged out of the foster care system. 

Older Youth Housing, Financial Literacy and Other Supports
National Conference of State Legislators (2020)
Identifies national and State efforts and supports to help youth transition from foster care, including helping youth secure stable housing, promoting financial literacy, extending foster care, and more.

Positive Changes in FY2021: Universal FUP Vouchers for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
Berg (2021) 
National Alliance to End Homelessness
Describes rent subsidies available to youth aging out of foster care through the Family Unification Program, which has been expanded to cover more transitioning youth. 

Stable Housing Can Launch Youth Leaving Foster Care on a Path to Success
Shroyer & Brennan (2019)
Provides research on the benefits of stable housing for young people as they exit the foster care system, national housing programs and support strategies, and examples of promising jurisdictions around the country. 

What Available Supports and Resources Are in Place for Youth Transitioning From Foster Care?
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau (2021)
Describes services and resources that can assist older youth transitioning out of foster care into adulthood, including housing assistance.  

(Back to Top)

State and local examples

Housing and Homelessness
National Foster Youth Institute 
Describes an effort in Los Angeles County, CA, to make affordable housing available to youth in foster care and those transitioning out of care.

Housing Resources
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Foster Youth in Transition 
Presents information on renting and finding affordable housing for youth in foster care in Michigan. 

My Path Forward
Better Housing Coalition (2020)
Describes the collaborative program that provides young people aging out of Virginia’s foster care system with housing, crucial support services, and counseling supports. The page also provides statistics on youth aging out of foster care in Virginia.

Preventing and Ending Homelessness for Justice Involved Youth in Minnesota (PDF - 350 KB)
CSH (2018)
Provides information and tools on how to work with community providers and young adults during their transition to adulthood.

A Sense of Home
Provides homes for youth aging out of foster care who need housing assistance. 

(Back to Top)

Spotlight On

Episode 29: Aging Out – Housing’s Critical Connection to Child Welfare, Part 1

Child Welfare Information Gateway (2018)

Episode 32: Housing’s Critical Connection to Child Welfare, Part 2

Child Welfare Information Gateway (2018)

Family Unification Program (FUP)

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Tenant Protection Vouchers

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Office of Housing Choice Vouchers

Housing for Young Adults in Extended Federally Funded Foster Care

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (2018)

Efforts by Child Welfare Agencies, Local Communities, and Federal Agencies to End Family and Youth Homelessness: IM-17-03

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau (2020)

Find Rental Assistance Programs in Your Area

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Related Content

Housing Services

Resources for Youth

Resources for Youth Involved With Child Welfare

Involving Youth in Case Planning

Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the

  • Children’s Bureau
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
↑ Back to top
  • HOME
  • TOPICS
    • Family-Centered Practice
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
    • Out-of-Home Care
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
    • Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
    • Systemwide
  • National Initiatives
    • National Adoption Month
    • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
    • National Foster Care Month
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Title
    • Browse by Topic
    • Índice de Títulos en Español
  • Library
    • Search the Library
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals
    • State Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Children's Bureau Resources
    • Information Gateway Podcast
    • Multimedia
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • ABOUT US
    • How to Report Child Abuse or Neglect
    • Find Help With a Personal Situation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Glossary
    • Search A to Z
  • Contact Us
    • 1-800-394-3366
    • info@childwelfare.gov
    • Subscribe to Free Updates
    • Chat With Us
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on YouTube
  • POLICIES & HELPFUL LINKS
    • Disclaimer and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • FOIA requests
    • No FEAR Act data
    • Office of the Inspector General
    • Performance reports
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Download Acrobat Reader
  • ↑ Back to top