NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The federal Strengthening Families Act is helping children in foster care have some of the formative experiences that children in intact families may take for granted.

What Young People Need to Thrive, a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, says foster children have often lived with restrictions that force them to the margins of normal school activities, community involvement, even friendships. But many of these restrictions were put in place with younger children in mind.

Bianca Rey, an associate policy fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children, points out that adolescence is a time of practicing for adulthood.

"You want to develop independence and the ability to handle responsibility, so that you are ready to take on all those responsibilities of adulthood, and make safe choices, and be able to carefully assess risk on your own behalf," she explained.

According to Rey, Connecticut has been ahead of most other states in helping youth in foster care accomplish such normal pursuits as getting a driver's license or participating in sports.

Because the state serves as the legal guardian of children in foster care, concerns about safety and liability have often kept young people from participating in some types of activities, such as staying at a friend's house or traveling. But those are very activities that help youth feel like they belong among their peers.

"We really want young people to have these normal adolescent and child experiences," said Todd Lloyd, senior policy associate at the Annie E Casey Foundation. "And much of that – for many of us, really – occurred within the context of family."

To help achieve that, he said, the normalcy standards of the Strengthening Families Act free foster parents to make some of the decisions that once only could be made by caseworkers. Requiring a state agency to give permission for school trips or joining a sports team means foster children could miss many opportunities that other children have.

Rey said often, a social worker isn't the best person to decide what's right for the child.

"A lot of decision-making could be made by the foster parent, who knows the particular developmental and age challenges of the youth in question and can do a day-by-day, moment-by-moment analysis of what's appropriate, the way that parents do," she said.

The Strengthening Families Act became Connecticut state law during the last legislative session. The state is now actively pursuing full implementation of the law's normalcy standards.



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CLARIFICATION: We updated language to clarify the timing for when the study's authors began tracking certain outcome measures for children within the foster care system. (9:30 a.m. CST, Nov. 22, 2024)

This Saturday is National Adoption Day and the latest findings showed Minnesota has made progress in helping kids in the foster care system secure a better future.

Aaron Sojourner, labor economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, helped lead a study of reforms Minnesota approved in 2015. He said states often provide financial support to children in foster care but support ends when a child is adopted or placed in a kin guardianship.

Minnesota decided to continue payments to households who take a child in permanently. Sojourner pointed out three years after foster cases started, positive outcomes became clear.

"The kids were scoring much higher on standardized achievement tests," Sojourner reported. "They were experiencing less turnover in schools and school instability."

He noted the incentives also boosted the chances of kids age 6 and older exiting the foster care system and moving into permanent home settings by 29%. Sojourner added while the results are encouraging, it is just one aspect of the child welfare landscape. Other research has shown racial disparities in Minnesota's foster care system, especially when looking at reducing entry rates.

Sojourner stressed if state lawmakers revisit the extended monthly payments in budget talks, they will need to realize the long-term payoff from these investments.

"The state is paying more money now but they're going to reap the benefits down the road," Sojourner contended. "In terms of increased earnings and employment."

His team's study said prolonged exposure to foster care is tied to poor transitions into adulthood, including homelessness.


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Nearly one in four Kentucky kids has experienced at least two Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, including abuse, neglect or household dysfunction, according to the latest Kids Count County Data Book.

Experts said the findings should prompt policymakers to better measure risk and pave the way for prevention.

Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said the impact of ACEs on children can leave a lifetime imprint.

"When we think about Kentucky in 20 years, data around ACEs today is going to be a leveraged factor that we're going to be seeing the results of," Brooks projected.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ACEs trigger a toxic stress response in the body, which can change brain development and can lead to chronic health problems, mental illness and substance use disorders in adulthood.

Mentorship, guidance and support from adults and community members can help foster positive childhood experiences and buffer the impact of ACEs.

Aleah Stigall, a student at Boyle County High School, said a network of mentors participating in pageantry has helped her cope with loneliness.

"I was able to gain a lot of mentors," Stigall explained. "Some I like to even call my sisters, because of how they've impacted me and really show me what a true titleholder looks like and how you can make a strong impact on your community."

The findings also show more families are transient and struggling to stay housed. Brooks explained the state has seen significant increases in rental cost burdens.

"That eight-year-old little girl going to school has inevitably heard her mom and dad worrying about, are they going to get evicted, and are the lights going to stay on?" Brooks observed. "I don't think any of us can fully measure the impact it has on that little kid."

According to the research, Kentucky is short around 200,000 housing units. And between 2018 and 2022, 44% of Kentucky households spent 30% or more of their income on rent and utilities. In 20 counties, residents' rental cost-burden rates have reached 50%.

A new annual report shows New York City has more than 146,000 homeless students.

The Advocates for Children of New York report finds this is an increase from last year when more than 119,000 students were homeless. It also finds more than half of students were temporarily sharing housing with others, while 41% lived in shelters.

Jennifer Pringle, director of Project LIT with Advocates for Children of New York, says the city can help these students by addressing transportation delays.

"Roughly 40% of students in shelters are placed in a different borough from where they go to school, which means that students in temporary housing often face long commutes and are disproportionately impacted by busing delays," she said.

Other recommendations include eliminating the 60-day shelter limits and addressing shortages in staff supporting students in temporary housing. But, Pringle notes there's work the state can do too. More than 115 groups want the state to add a weight for students in temporary housing as part of the school funding formula re-evaluation.

The biggest challenge to implement these recommendations is political will, although they have broad support. But, student homelessness has been a long-standing issue for the city. This is the ninth year in a row New York City's homeless student population has included more than 100,000 students. There are many reasons students become homeless.

"Certainly we know there's a growing housing-affordability crisis," she continued. "Families indicate that domestic violence is one leading driver of family homelessness. And then also we have immigrant families, newcomers to the city as well, who are in temporary housing."

Living in temporary housing significantly impacts students' education. The report finds most students in either temporary housing or a shelter were chronically absent. It also notes their English Language Arts proficiency was 20% lower than students in permanent housing.


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