skip to body
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
      • 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
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific 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
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • 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
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion
    • 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
    • Search Our Library
    • Library Policy
  • 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
      • Children's Bureau Timeline
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
      • The Children's Bureau Legacy: Ensuring the Right to Childhood
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Adoption Triad
    • Free Subscriptions
    • 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
  • Support Services for Youth in Transition
  • Support Services for Youth in Transition: Identity Formation

Support Services for Youth in Transition: Identity Formation

The following resources offer ways to help transitioning youth develop a positive sense of self, including information on spirituality; cultural, racial, and ethnic identity; sexual and gender identity; self-esteem; and more.

Adolescent Development Explained 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Adolescent Health (2018) 
Explores the developmental changes that occur during adolescence and focuses on five areas of change: physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and morals and values. For each of these areas, information is presented on normal development, ways adolescents experiences and express developmental changes, and how supportive adults can guide young people through developmental challenges. 

Bridging the Gap: How Child Welfare Can Work With Faith Communities to Support and Affirm LGBTQ+ Children, Youth, and Families
Pendleton (2020)
Center for the Study of Social Policy 
Outlines how child welfare agencies should consider whether faith and spirituality is important to youth involved with the child welfare system, especially youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or questioning (LGBTQ+) to ensure they feel supported in all aspects of their identity. The article also discusses ways to support faith and spirituality through partnerships with faith communities and the development of resources for parents and caregivers. 

Developing Adolescent Identity 
Williams (2018) 
Center for Parent and Teen Communication
Reviews adolescent development at various ages and summarizes the process of exploring youth identity, how parents and peers can support the process, why identity development can be challenging, and more. 

Developing a Positive Self-Concept in Foster Care Youth: 2016 Final Report
Foster/Adoptive Parent Training Projects (2017) 
Overviews the issue of low self-esteem for youth in foster care and explains how feeling worthwhile is necessary for youth to develop positive self-worth and succeed in life. The article discusses how to promote youth's self-esteem and includes suggestions for teenagers, such as how to help them reject negative thoughts and change negative self-talk.

Discovering Self: Identity and Culture 
Annie E. Casey Foundation (2018) 
Offers a guide to help youth and adult facilitators have conversations around identity development for young people who have been in the foster care system. 

How Can Child Welfare Agencies Effectively Support LGBTQ+ Youth in Care?
Casey Family Programs (2019)
Explores the topic of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or questioning (LGBTQ+) youth involved with the child welfare system and provides examples of best practices and programs working to support LGBTQ+ well-being and identity development. 

The Road to Adulthood: Aligning Child Welfare Practice With Adolescent Brain Development (PDF - 3,277 KB)
Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative (2017)
Presents the latest research in neuroscience and brain development and gives insights into how the brain's changes affect risk taking, emotional regulation, and the ability to connect socially and emotionally with others. This research has implications for child welfare and relates to older youth in foster care as well.

Supporting Cultural Identity for Children in Foster Care  
Stafanson (2019) 
Child Law Practice Today
Examines how child welfare practitioners should work to support a strong cultural identity for children involved in the foster care system. The article provides case examples, study results, and examples of laws relating to cultural heritage activities for youth in foster care. 

These Tools Help Coach College Youth Aged Out of Foster Care to Develop Relationships 
Unrau (2019) 
Youth Today
Shares tools to help supportive adults establish and build strong relationships with college youth who have been in the foster care system. The resource describes the Fostering Success Coaching model and discusses a three-step campus coaching interaction used in this model. 

What Young People Need to Thrive: Leveraging the Strengthening Families Act to Promote Normalcy 
Annie E. Casey Foundation (2015) 
Emphasizes the importance of typical experiences, or normalcy, to the healthy development of young people in foster care and provides suggestions for how child welfare agencies can leverage the Strengthening Families Act to create more supportive, normal environments for children and youth. 

Who I Am, Where I Belong, and Where I'm Going: Promoting Positive Identity Development for Youth in Connecticut Foster Care (PDF - 1,423 KB) 
Luczak, Nelson, & Ruth (2018) 
Connecticut Voices for Children 
Examines identity development in youth in foster care and provides a literature review and discussion of policy, practice, and law related to supporting these youth as they build a sense of self. The report also includes recommendations for those working in the field of child welfare on how to better assess, strengthen, and support identity development in youth in foster care. 

Youth With Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression in Child Welfare: A Review of Best Practices (PDF - 1,126 KB)
Matarese, Greeno, & Betsinger (2017) 
National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability ad Permanency for Lesbian Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Two-Spirit Children and Youth in Foster Care (QIC-LGBTQ2S) 
Offers a review of best practices, evidence-informed models, and evidence-based practices for supporting the gender identity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or questioning (LGBTQ+) youth in foster care. 

(Back to Top)

Children’s Bureau

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
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Free Subscriptions
    • 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