Transition Support and Services

Children and youth in foster care are best supported through a continuum of care that provides ongoing services. Transition planning is critical for children and youth while they are being placed with potentially permanent families and after placement to solidify and stabilize the new or reconstituted family. Families should be involved in the transition planning, as should relevant service providers and community members. For youth transitioning to permanency or transitioning out of care, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 sets specific requirements designed to improve youths' chances for permanent connections and for a better transition to adulthood. The following resources offer information about providing appropriate transition support and services to children and families. Resources include State and local examples.

National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides State-by-State contact information for a variety of adoption-related organizations and services. Support Groups for Those Involved in the Search Process includes groups that offer support and information to adopted adults, birth parents, and relatives involved in a search for birth family members. Download the NFCAD mobile app.

Preparing Children and Youth for Adoption or Other Family Permanency
Series Title Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability View
Download (PDF - 406KB)
Year Published 2013
Discusses services for children and youth in foster care to address their readiness and preparation for adoption and other permanent relationships. It focuses on ways that child welfare workers and other adults can help to prepare those children and youth whose goal is adoption; however, much of the information on preparation is also applicable to children and youth with other permanency goals. The bulletin examines what has previously been considered adequate preparation as well as current practices and those in development to more effectively ensure that children and youth are better prepared for permanent family relationships, including both legal and relational permanency (permanent relationships with caring adults).

State and local examples

Touchpoints: Preparing Children for Transitions (PDF - 1,444 KB)
Coalition for Children, Youth, and Families (2014)
Provides a tool to help talk with children and youth about the transition to out-of-home care and permanency. The guide includes activities that professionals and children can do to help the child cope with and work through the challenges of transitions.