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, which include State and local examples, can help professionals prepare youth throughout the permanency process.
2018 National Adoption Month: Lifting Up Youth Voices to Promote Permanency [Webinar]
AdoptUSKids & Child Welfare Information Gateway (2018)
Features professionals, youth, and young adults who have experience engaging youth in promoting permanency for themselves and others and developing public platforms to help inform and influence local and statewide permanency efforts.
3-5-7 Model
The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (2017)
Presents an approach that empowers children, youth, and families and allows them to engage in the work of grieving losses and rebuilding relationships with the goal of well-being, safety, and permanency.
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway (U.S.);AdoptUSKids (Program) |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 260KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2019 |
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.
Episode 1: Engaging Youth in Foster Care [Podcast]
Child Welfare Information Gateway (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.
Healing Guidebook: Practical Tips and Tools for Working With Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Trauma (PDF - 17,725 KB)
Anu Family Services & Alia Innovations (2018)
Presents an effective four-phase framework—protect, grieve, connect, and regulate—for helping youth heal from relational trauma and find permanency.
| Series Title | Factsheets for Families |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 484KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2018 |
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 719KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2019 |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway; AdoptUSKids |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 1,070KB) |
| Year Published | 2016 |
Unpacking the No: Helping Young People Explore the Idea of Adoption
Stevens & Libertin (2018)
Adoptalk, 3
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Discusses how caseworkers can respond to older youth or teens in foster care who have said they do not want to be adopted. The resource reviews several reasons why older youth say they do not want to participate in adoptive family recruitment and ways to respond.
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.
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 287KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2018 |
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.
Family Focus Adoption Guide Program
Family Focus Adoption Services
Describes a program in New York and New Jersey that aims to help children become more confident in the adoption process. Each child is assigned a trained and well-supervised guide to help them through the adoption process, from placement through their decision about adoption. The program uses a graduated visiting schedule, from twice a week to once every 3 weeks, and takes the child through a series of adoption levels that are marked by six cards collected by the child over 5 months. The goal of the program is to help children become more certain that being adopted by the particular family they are with is the right decision for them.
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.