Aging Out of Foster Care in Los Angeles: Opportunities to Prevent Homelessness Among Transition-Aged Youth

REPORT: Aging Out of Foster Care in Los Angeles: Opportunities to Prevent Homelessness Among Transition-Aged Youth  

Each year, around 1,000 youth age out of Los Angeles’ foster care system. Many of these transition-aged youth (“TAY”) will go on to experience homelessness, and in surveys, nearly one in four youth formerly in foster care report having been homeless at some point between ages 21 and 23. Yet little is known about which TAY in foster care are at highest risk of homelessness or how best to prevent that from happening.

This mixed-methods study focuses on TAY aged 18–21 with a foster care placement in Los Angeles and seeks to describe:

(1) how many go on to experience homelessness within three years;
(2) whether we can predict which youth are at highest risk of homelessness;
(3) the characteristics and service histories of TAY foster youth who experience homelessness; (4) the transition services and housing programs available to them; and
(5) the experiences of former foster youth and case workers with these services.

The project was developed in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The purpose of this study is to provide information to our partners in Los Angeles, particularly DCFS, the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and the Housing Justice Collective, to help design programs or interventions for TAY in foster care at high risk of experiencing homelessness.

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EdSource: The community college creating a home base for transition-age foster students (Feb 12, 2025)

Suggested Citation: Rountree, J., Santillano, R., Buenaventura, M., Blackwell, B., Nunn, A., Vidaurre, A. (2024). Aging Out of Foster Care in Los Angeles: Opportunities to Prevent Homelessness Among Transition-Aged Youth. California Policy Lab, University of California. https://capolicylab.org/aging-out-of-foster-care-in-los-angeles/