This Annie E. Casey Foundation blogpost profiles A Place 4 Me, a community-based organization in Cleveland that improves outcomes for housing of youth transitioning out of foster care. The blogpost discusses the organization’s goals for ending youth homelessness and how it integrates support systems and services by offering young peer navigators who have transitioned out of foster care.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report is a feasibility evaluation of the Bridges to Pathways (Bridges) program. The Bridges program addressed youth ages 17 to 21 exiting the criminal or juvenile justice system. Through the program, participants who did not have a high school diploma earned this credential. They also engaged in social-emotional learning workshops, and participated in a subsidized internship. The Bridges evaluation is included in OPRE’s Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration and assessed the Bridges program’s impact on 480 participants and their outcomes for employment, earnings, and decreased criminal activity.

This Urban Institute report examines the extension of foster care eligibility to age 21 and the extension of support services for foster care youth through 23 years old. The report looks at the challenges and practices of implementing extensions by child welfare agencies and supportive services providers. The report also covers recommendations for creating child welfare systems that are responsive for young adults.

This Administration for Children and Families (ACF) blogpost, published by the Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, describes activities associated with this year’s observance of National Runaway Prevention Month to raise awareness of the challenges that face homeless youth. This commemoration focuses on prevention services and promotes greater understanding of why young people are homeless; in many cases, youth are asked to leave home or do so because they see no other way to improve their situation. The Family and Youth Services Bureau is cited as a key player in the effort to end youth homelessness, domestic violence, and adolescent pregnancy.

This Child Trends report evaluates Nebraska’s Bridge to Independence (b2i) program for young adults who have recently exited from the foster care system. The program offers supportive services such as medical care, housing, and case management and assists participants as they attain education and employment in coordination with an assigned independence coordinator. This report’s assessment of qualitative and quantitative impacts of b2i are incorporated as part of the Nebraska Children’s Commission 2018-2019 Annual Report and will be used to set future priorities on the b2i program expansion.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report illustrates the research projects of the Division of Family Strengthening in Fiscal Year 2018. The report highlights six sections of activity: Supporting Fatherhood, Strengthening Relationships, Home Visiting: Nurturing Children Through Families, Supporting Positive Youth Development and Transitions to Adulthood, Preventing Family Violence, and Other Cross-Cutting Research.

This Chapin Hall research-to-practice brief examines the connection between youth homelessness and educational attainment. The brief identifies research that demonstrates how young people encountering family instability are more likely to have unstable living circumstances and are at a greater risk for education disruption at the secondary school level. The brief also notes how youth encountering homelessness are less likely to enroll in and complete college or post-secondary education.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requests caseload data for October 2019 on the number of foster children supported with public funds and the number of children in families receiving TANF payments in excess of the poverty income level under the 2019 HHS Poverty Guidelines. The data will be used as part of a formula to allocate FY 2020 U.S. Department of Education, Title I, Part A of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funds. Data provided to ACF must include the name of the local education agency (LEA) (or county, if not available by LEA) and reporting code shown on the list. Form ACF-4125 must be submitted by December 31, 2019 by regular mail or e-mail. Failure to provide data will result in the loss of Title I funds.

This Aspen Institute toolkit provides practical guidance for employers on how to approach and engage opportunity youth (young people who are neither in school nor working) and design initiatives so they are positioned for current and future economic challenges and jobs. The toolkit also offers resources on how to use labor market research as the basis of conversation between employers and youth. The approach is drawn from insights from Denver, New York, and Seattle pilots.