Addressing the Critical Challenges Faced by Foster Youth
Longitudinal research shows that when young people exit foster care without permanent relationships or ongoing support, negative outcomes in education, employment, justice system involvement, and early parenthood become statistically predictable, -not exceptional.
Population Most at Risk
Longitudinal findings from the Midwest Evaluation of Former Foster Youth show elevated rates of early pregnancy, justice system involvement, educational disruption, and economic instability well into adulthood, -particularly among young people who exited care without lasting relationships or consistent support.
Complex trauma exposure in foster care
Children in foster care experience high rates of complex trauma, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence. These multiple, overlapping adversities profoundly affect emotional regulation, behavior, and developmental outcomes, illustrating why early intervention, supportive relationships, and protective factors are critical for helping youth build resilience and thrive into adulthood.
From Risk to Resilience: The Power of Protective Factors
While risk factors identify vulnerabilities that can derail young people in foster care, protective factors highlight the strengths, relationships, and resources that actively buffer them from adversity. Recognized in research and measurable in practice, protective factors operate at multiple levels.
We All Need Family
Decades of research show that secure, supportive family relationships are foundational to healthy development across the lifespan. Children and adolescents who grow up with stable family bonds are more likely to experience educational success, economic stability, and meaningful community engagement, -strengths that shape lifelong well-being, opportunity, and the ability to navigate adulthood with confidence and support.
Foster Youth Need Protection
Research with youth currently in foster care shows that even when older adolescents have clear goals for relational permanency — including a sense of family belonging — very few actually achieve those goals before exiting care. This gap contributes to relational disruption and instability, leaving many youth without the supportive, permanent family connections that are foundational for well-being and successful transitions into adulthood.
Turning Protective Factors into Results
Where We Turn Belonging into Opportunity for Our Youth
Adult-Focused Interventions vs. Peer Needs
Most social support interventions for youth in foster care focus on adult figures: caseworkers, mentors, or family members, while peer support networks -critical during adolescent development -are largely underutilized. The research highlights a necessity to design programs that leverage peer relationships.
Where Peer Support Changes Outcomes
Peer support in child welfare brings lived experience into service delivery, offering mentoring, resource navigation, support groups, coaching, advocacy and outreach that traditional systems often lack. These programs build trust, combat isolation, and connect children, youth and caregivers with people who truly understand their journeys — yet they remain underfunded and under-resourced despite demonstrating positive impacts on well-being, engagement, and system navigation.
Reimagining Foster Care Outcomes
Youth‑informed, peer‑enhanced programs with near‑peer mentors and facilitators who’ve lived the experience actively strengthen coping, help‑seeking, and support networks, -giving foster youth the tools, connections, and confidence to thrive as they transition to adulthood.
Emberkind builds on these peer-support methods, going further to provide ongoing guidance, meaningful relationships, and real opportunities — giving our youth the support and resources they need to navigate challenges, achieve their goals, and build the life they deserve.
It’s Time to Change How We Show Up.
Learn how you can support transformative change and improve outcomes.