Youth can face many challenges as they transition to living independently as adults. For youth in foster care, overcoming obstacles may require additional support and skills to be self-reliant. Caseworkers and child welfare professionals assist youth with securing employment, secondary education, housing, financial literacy, and other needs. However, additional support is needed to provide encouragement and stability as youth transition to adulthood. Support systems consisting of helpful, stable adults reinforce the goal of self-sufficiency and give youth a sense of community.

This episode explores how Alternative Family Services (AFS) successfully creates effective support systems for youth in foster care. AFS supports northern Californian families, children, and youth in foster, adoptive, and extended family settings. The AFS clinical model focuses on a highly individualized social support model with a goal of safety, stability, and well-being.

What Does an Effective Support System Look Like?

The Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast shares the innovations, lessons, and perspectives from those working to improve child welfare system. Our mission is to help adoption, foster care, and child safety caseworkers by exploring new ideas and practices making a difference in the lives of children, youth and families. Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.