Resources provide strategies to help transitioning youth locate and maintain safe and affordable housing, including State and local examples.
Creating a TAY Triage Tool: Prioritizing Transition Age Youth (TAY) for Permanent Supportive Housing (PDF - 175 KB)
Corporation for Supportive Housing (2013)
Describes the methodology for developing a triage tool that targets homeless transition-age youth for permanent supportive housing and outlines next steps for learning about how to use the tool efficiently.
Evaluating Housing Programs for Youth Who Age Out of Foster Care
Mathematica Policy Research (2014)
Focuses on the importance of evaluating housing programs for youth who age out of foster care and the barriers to evaluating them. The report concludes with suggestions for how the field can move forward to build the evidence base in this area.
The Family Unification Program: A Housing Resource for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (PDF - 1,931 KB)
Dion, Kleinman, Kauff, & Dworsky (2014)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, Mathematica Policy Research, & Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Describes the extent to which communities are using the Family Unification Program (FUP) to support foster youth who have aged out of care and need housing. The report concludes by discussing potential barriers to referring youth for FUP and the need for cross-agency communication and collaboration for effective implementation.
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.
Housing and Social Support for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: State of the Research Literature and Directions for Future Inquiries
Curry & Abrams (2014)
Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 31(5)
Reviews the literature on housing and emancipated foster youth in the transition to adulthood. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research, policy, and practice concerning emancipated foster youth and housing
Housing for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (PDF - 2,230 KB)
Dion, Kleinman, Kauff, & Dworsky (2014)
U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development
Explores the housing needs of youth who age out of the foster care system. This resource includes a literature review, issue brief, and report on the housing challenges facing this population.
Housing Supports for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
Doescher-Train (2014)
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Outlines numerous policies and programs that have been implemented to help youth transition to adulthood and secure safe, affordable housing.
Using a Housing First Philosophy When Serving Youth (PDF - 570 KB)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2017)
Explains the Housing First approach, which focuses on quickly connecting people experiencing a housing crisis to permanent housing without preconditions and barriers to entry (e.g., sobriety, treatment, or service participation requirements). The document describes the core principles of Housing First as they relate to youth and techniques to better serve youth.
State and local examples
Aged Out/Cast Out: Solutions to Housing Instability for Aging Out Foster Youth in New York (PDF - 1,433 KB)
Columbia Law School, Adolescent Representation Clinic (2016)
Discusses common challenges that youth aging out of foster care in New York face as they attempt to find stable housing. The report offers recommendations for policy and practice improvements for each challenge presented.
Building Capacity to Evaluate Interventions for Youth/Young Adults With Child Welfare Involvement At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH), 2013–2018
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (2017)
Provides project descriptions and reports from the two phases of the Children’s Bureau’s planning and implementation grants to build capacity to end youth homelessness.
The Possibilities Project
Better Housing Coalition (2018)
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.
Related Publications for Building Capacity to Evaluate Interventions for Youth With Child Welfare Involvement at Risk of Homelessness: Phase I and II
Mathematica Policy Research
Provides high-level themes and lessons learned from a process study of the Children’s Bureau planning and implementation grants for developing and testing cross-system interventions for youth with child welfare involvement who are most likely to experience homelessness.
Transition Age Youth Housing and Service Roadmap: A Best Practices Framework (PDF - 1,637 KB)
Child Welfare Initiative (2013)
Presents a 2-year assessment of housing and supportive services for transition-age youth in Los Angeles County and the Best Practices Framework that was developed to improve outcomes for transition-age youth. The report concludes with recommendations for removing barriers in specific transitional housing and supportive service programs for youth formerly in foster care.