This document discusses extending foster care supports to age 21 in Ohio. It argues that abruptly cutting off support at age 18 often leads to poor outcomes like homelessness and lack of education. Extending Care And Responsibility Equivalency (CARE) to age 21 would provide stability, consistency, and support through independent living services, foster care room and board, case planning, and judicial oversight. This could help more foster youth complete higher education and earn higher lifetime incomes. The campaign aims to ensure youth have a voice in planning, are not cut off without support at 18, and receive oversight and accountability to lead to better outcomes.

1. Not business as usual
• Currently, extended foster care programs
place much of the accountability and
responsibility for maintaining extended
support agreements on the young person.
• At age 17, they have little control over
decisions impacting their lives and are
treated as children.
• Suddenly, at age 18, they are treated as
fully capable adults who must fulfill adult
responsibilities and expectations.
• Without strong preparation for this new
role, young people often stumble and lose
the support they need to successfully
transition into young adulthood.

2. What does extending CARE mean?
Consistency. Stability. Support.
• What it includes:
• Independent living services
• Foster care room and board
• Case and permanency planning
• Judicial oversight
• The Midwest Evaluation found that between ages 18-24, 40
percent of foster care alumni had been homeless or without a
stable living situation at least once since exiting foster care and that
many had been homeless multiple times.
• Those required to leave care at age 18 were over twice as likely
(2.7 times more likely) to have been homeless.

3. Why extend foster care supports?
• Every year, over a thousand Ohio foster care youth “age out”
of foster care without permanent families or supports.
• If foster care is extended to age 21 in a developmentally
appropriate way, it can help put young people on a trajectory
toward success.
• Negative outcomes include:
• Homelessness
• Failure to complete high school
• Criminal involvement
• Unplanned pregnancies

4. Post-secondary retention
• Allowing young people to remain in care until age 21 doubles
the percentage who earn a college degree from 10.2 to
20.4,8 thereby increasing their earnings potential.
• Researchers project that a young person formerly in foster
care can expect to earn $481,000 more over his or her work
life with a college degree than with only a high school
diploma.

5. The campaign’s three policy and practice goals:
1. Young people are not on their own at 18 without families or
supports.
2. Young people have a meaningful voice and say in their future
– before and after 18.
3. Greater oversight and accountability for their well-being
leads to more positive outcomes.
Doing it right has the power to change lives

6. Doing It Right
• Youth voice: Involve foster care youth and alumni in
designing extended care.
• Awareness of resources: Need for more consistent
independent living preparation, and 90-day transition
plans.
• Time and supports: Developmentally appropriate,
providing a gradual transition into young adulthood.
• Network of relationships: Siblings, extended family,
caring adults, mentors, peers (Social Capital: Building
Quality Networks for Young People in Foster Care)

7. Ohio youth insights
• Independent Living Resources: Ohio still needs a statewide
curriculum and better information sharing of existing resources.
• Shared Living Agreement: So that both youth and agency/foster
parent know their role and mutual expectations are clearly
defined.
• Boarding Contract: For emancipated foster youth that is less
restrictive than a foster home, and includes apartment options.
• Transition Coaches: To coach and mentor youth for the next step
in their lives, in building their future.
• Safety Net: Allow youth to leave foster care and come back
again. Provide growing levels of freedom, and anticipate
temporary setbacks.

8. Keys to Success
Age-Appropriate: Young people will make the decision to remain
in foster care beyond age 18 only if the services, placement
settings, and judicial oversight offered to them meet their needs
as emerging adults.
Youth Directed: Involve young people as partners in all aspects
of planning and decision-making, recognizing them as experts on
their lives and giving deference to their voice throughout the
process.
Creative placements: Broadly defining the “supervised setting”
where young people may independently live while in
extended foster care.

9. Roles and Responsibilities
Caseworker and/or Foster Parent:
• Acts as Transition Coach.
• Assist young person in pursuing
education and employment, accessing
physical and mental health care, and
securing safe and stable housing.
• Youth/alumni role in helping to
develop training for caseworkers and
foster parents to meet the needs of
older youth.
• Identify staff and foster parents who
want to and have the qualities to work
effectively with young people ages 18
to 21 in foster care.

10. Vision for the Future
“We need a safe program/environment where youth are
challenged to step up and take their future into their hands, but
also with the assurance that there will be adults cheering them
on and making themselves available to help when needed.”