Youth Thrive’s five protective and promotive factors are five essential elements that research tells us help young people thrive, even in the face of adversity. The five factors are youth resilience, social connections, knowledge of adolescent development, concrete support, and cognitive and social-emotional competence. This video reviews why each factor is important, and how taken together they contribute to young people’s overall well-being.

This blogpost provides an overview of the basics behind extended foster care. Extended foster care is an approach that allows youth to remain in or re-enter care beyond their 18th birthday. The blogpost addresses key questions, including: at what age does foster care stop, what happens when youth age out of foster care, what federal laws help states fund extended foster care, why is extended foster care important, what services are available through extended foster care, are young people helped by extended foster care, and what states offer extended foster care. Links to additional resources from the Annie E. Casey Foundation are also provided.

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) announced the release of the Fiscal Year 2022 Transitional Living Program (TLP) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The Transitional Living Programs implement, enhance, and/or support effective strategies for successful transition to sustainable living for runaway and homeless youth ages 16 to under 22 and/or pregnant and parenting youth ages 16 to under 22 and their dependent child(ren). Grants awarded under this announcement will have a start date of September 30, 2022 and will be for a 36-month project period. Applications are due by June 21, 2022.

The Survey of Youth Transitioning from Foster Care (SYTFC) collected information from youth currently and formerly in foster care in two states who were at risk for human trafficking experiences based on their demographic characteristics, maltreatment allegations, and removal and placement history. The SYTFC was conducted to address knowledge gaps and to provide the child welfare system with information needed to identify and support youth in care who are at risk of human trafficking. This brief focuses on the qualitative recommendations from youth who participated in the SYTFC when asked about the most important ways the child welfare system could support youth leaving care.

In rural communities, widely dispersed populations face many access challenges. With a declining talent pool and lower educational attainment, coupled with rising poverty rates as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need to prepare young people in rural areas for high-demand careers. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship hosted a webinar on April 28, 2022, which focused on best practices and creative solutions for increasing pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship access, enrollment, retention, and program completion for young people in rural areas. Featured youth apprenticeship intermediaries and partners shared their accomplishments in developing youth apprenticeship opportunities in rural areas, establishing support networks, and best utilizing resources to ensure pre- and youth apprenticeship success.

As the economy struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing volatility in labor markets, leaders in the field of young adult talent development are seeing a need to develop approaches that address the talent needs of employers and the training aspirations of young adults equally. This Jobs for the Future brief explores how personalized learning approaches can be used to support and balance the interests of the supply and demand sides in young adult talent development.

The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is an initiative designed to reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness. The goal of the YHDP is to support selected communities, including rural, suburban, and urban areas across the United States, in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) establishes the funding criteria for the FY 2021 YHDP. Through this NOFO, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will award approximately $72 million in up to 25 participating communities, with a priority for communities with substantial rural populations in up to eight locations. Applications are due by June 28, 2022.

This brief presents findings from an exploratory impact evaluation of the New York City Performance Partnership Pilot (P3) program, which enhanced youth workforce services for young parents. Initial findings note that NYC P3 enrollees had better outcomes than the comparison group in their occupational training participation rate. Enrollees were more likely to participate in other education and job-oriented services, achieve high school equivalency credential attainment, and enroll in education/training enrollment and credential attainment after they leave the program. The brief concludes with recommendations for policy and practice.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration has announced a funding opportunity under the Workforce Pathways for Youth demonstration grant program. Workforce Pathways for Youth demonstration grants support national out-of-school time (OST) organizations that serve historically underserved and marginalized youth ages 14 to 21. Funding will also support partnerships between workforce development boards and youth-serving organizations. Applications are due by April 25, 2022.

Family-engaged case planning is a new model for the initial stage of the juvenile probation process where juvenile probation officers formulate case plans by collaborating with young people and their families. This approach is necessary to align probation with powerful studies on adolescent brain development and effective responses to delinquent behavior. This Practice Guide covers:

• Why family engagement is important—and a departure from the status quo.
• Three stages of the family-engaged case planning model.
• Advice on adapting this model to local jurisdictions.
• Six common challenges to meaningfully engaging families.