Preparing Children and Youth for Permanency

Children and youth in out-of-home care must be involved in planning for their own permanency to the extent possible. Discussing permanency options, explaining the processes, and helping children and youth deal with the emotional ups and downs are all activities that can help prepare and support them to achieve permanency. The following resources can help professionals prepare youth throughout the permanency process, including State and local examples.

Belonging Matters -- Helping Youth Explore Permanency

Series Title	Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 815KB)
Year Published	2019

Explores how professionals can help youth in foster care consider their full range of legal and relational permanency options as well as understand the feelings that may underlie a young person’s reluctance in pursuing permanency.

Engaging Older Youth in Permanency Planning
Juvenile Law Center (2019)
Presents a toolkit for child welfare professionals to support youth and assist them in achieving permanency. The toolkit includes tools and best practices developed by youth advocates for professionals who work on permanency planning.

Engaging Youth in Foster Care [Podcast]
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2016)
Offers a podcast that provides caseworkers with information on how to engage youth in foster care in their own case planning and decision-making.

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) Order (Free)
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).

Promoting Permanency for Older Youth in Out-of-Home Care

Series Title	Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 719KB) Order (Free)
Year Published	2019

Provides information for child welfare professionals about the importance of permanency for youth and strategies for achieving it. Permanency efforts for youth should include both legal permanency (e.g., reunification, adoption, kinship care) and relational permanency (i.e., a relationship or connection with a caring adult, such as a relative, neighbor, service provider, teacher, or other important person in the youth's life). These adults may provide lifelong support that can help youth transition to adulthood and may even become a legal permanent option for the youth.

Talking With Older Youth About Adoption

Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway; AdoptUSKids
Availability	View Download (PDF - 1,070KB)
Year Published	2016

Provides child welfare professionals with a framework for how to talk with older youth about permanency, including key considerations and suggestions for starting a conversation as well as ways to make these discussions more effective and meaningful.

Webinar: Engaging Youth in Permanency Planning
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2019)
Presents a webinar for child welfare agency staff that focuses on effective youth engagement when planning for and promoting permanency. The webinar includes best practices, lessons learned, tips, and key considerations.

We Never Outgrow the Need for Family—Just Ask Us: Talking With Older Youth About Adoption [Video]
Administration for Children and Families (2016)
Features teens involved with the child welfare system and their perspectives and experiences in developing permanent connections.

Working With Youth to Develop a Transition Plan

Series Title	Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 287KB) Order (Free)
Year Published	2018

Helps child welfare professionals and others who work with transitioning youth to understand the Federal legislative requirements for transition plans and partner with youth to develop a plan over time and through close youth engagement that builds on their strengths while supporting their needs.

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State and local examples

Achieving Permanency for Older Youth (PDF - 293 KB)
Virginia Department of Social Services (2016)
Presents information on permanency for older youth in Virginia and includes sections on assessments, engaging families and youth, creating transitional living plans, maintaining connections, education and training resources for youth, and more.

Empowering Foster Children Age 14 and Older in the Development of Their Own Case Plan and Transition Planning for a Successful Adulthood (PDF - 264 KB)
Advocates for Children and Youth (2015)
Describes how agencies in Maryland changed practices to involve children age 14 and older in case planning in order to lead to improved permanency outcomes and better compliance with case plans.

Involving Foster Care Youth in Planning for Their Transition: Does it Make a Difference? (PDF - 188 KB)
Youth Policy Institute of Iowa (2014)
Examines cases where youth were involved in developing their transition plan out of foster care in order to assess how youth felt about themselves and their transition and discusses policy implications for youth engagement and future practice.

Permanency for Older Youth [Video]
Public Children Services Association of Ohio YouTube Channel (2016)
Highlights a pilot program used by Ohio's children's services agencies that focuses on finding permanency for older youth in foster care and reunifying them with birth their parents, even if parental rights have been terminated.

Perspectives on Normalcy: Videos and Discussion Questions
Capacity Building Center for States (2016)
Shares the perspectives of diverse individuals as they discuss their experiences with normalcy within the child welfare system. Normalcy is important for children in foster care as they should be able to experience the same opportunities as any other children in the most normal and safest method possible. Normalcy is a critical component to establishing well-being and preparing young people in foster care for permanency.

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