Employment Programs for Young People with Histories of Foster Care

Research shows that young people with histories of child welfare involvement work less often and earn lower wages during the transition to adulthood than their peers without this experience. However, little is known about whether programs that aim to improve employment outcomes for youth with prior child welfare system involvement are actually improving employment outcomes. This brief reviews findings of formative evaluations for two employment programs—MY TIME in Chicago, Illinois, and iFoster Jobs in Los Angeles, California. These evaluations highlight the importance of building a better understanding of the variations in programs serving young people with histories of child welfare system involvement and how they bolster different developmental assets for young people.