Planning a Next Generation Evaluation Agenda for the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood

2011-2021

The John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee program; formerly the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program) was created following the passage of the Foster Care Independence Act (FCIA) of 1999 (Public Law 106-169). The program provides assistance to help youth currently and formerly in foster care achieve self-sufficiency by providing grants to States and eligible Tribes that submit an approvable plan. Activities and programs allowable under the Chafee program include help with education, employment financial management, housing, emotional support, and assured connections to caring adults for older youth in foster care. In addition, the FCIA required that funding be set aside for evaluations of promising independent living programs. In response to this statutory requirement, the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) conducted the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs, a rigorous, random assignment evaluation of four programs funded under the Chafee program. This study was completed in 2011.

In order to build on the findings of the Multi-Site evaluation and to formalize a plan for future evaluation activities under the Chafee program, ACF awarded a task order contract to the Urban Institute. Subsequently, ACF awarded a contract to the Urban Institute to engage Phase II of this work, which includes conducting formative evaluations of programs of potential national significant in preparation for possible future summative evaluations. Programmatic areas of interest for this work include: employment and college success programs; services for pregnant and parenting youth; supportive housing programs; and the extension of Chafee services to age 23 in eligible states with extended federal foster care. The activities and products from this task order will inform future evaluation activities.

The points of contact are Kelly Jedd McKenzie and Maria Woolverton.

Related Resources

Explore OPRE's fact sheets for 10 states on Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs) for young adults in foster care.

Explore OPRE's brief on employment programs for youth transitioning out of foster care.

Explore findings from a brief on addressing the needs of young parents in foster care.

OPRE's brief "State Approaches to Extending Chafee Services to Age 23" describes how some states implemented the extension of Chafee-funded services to age 23, why some eligible states did not seek approval to extend, and common challenges states experienced in supporting older young adults.

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need many supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (the Chafee Program). This amendment doubled the maximum amount of funds potentially available to states for...

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need many supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (the Chafee Program). This amendment doubled the maximum amount of funds potentially available to states for...

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need many supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (the Chafee Program). This amendment doubled the maximum amount of funds potentially available to states for...

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need many supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (the Chafee Program). This amendment doubled the maximum amount of funds potentially available to states for...

Explore OPRE's report on Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs) for young adults in foster care.

Explore this examination of the Family Unification Program for Youth, to understand how to support housing needs of youth transitioning out of foster care.

Explore insights from a national scan of supportive housing programs for young people formerly in foster care.

Explore how employment programs can support young people transitioning out of foster care.

Economic trends have made postsecondary education increasingly important to self-sufficiency, but research suggests that far too many young people in foster care will not have the educational credentials needed to succeed in this economy without additional supports. Specifically, young people in foster care enroll in college at lower rates than their peers and are less likely to persist through the end of their first year when they do enroll...

For many decades, child welfare agencies—with few exceptions—only served children. State responsibility for the safety and well-being of children in foster care ended at age 18 (or 19, at the state’s discretion, in the case of youth completing high school). But in the past 10 years, many states have extended foster care eligibility to age 21, and some provide supportive services through age 23...

For many decades, child welfare agencies, with few exceptions, only served children. State responsibility for the safety and well-being of youth in foster care ended at age 18 (or 19, at the state’s discretion, in the case of youth who were completing high school). In 2008, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act by giving states the option to extend the age of eligibility...

Many youth aging out of foster care have a difficult time acquiring the skills and competencies they need to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Over the past three decades, policymakers have increased supports for these youth, but gaps remain in what the child welfare...