Benefits and challenges of transitioning into adulthood from foster care

According to the Children's Law Center of California (2015), there are over 33,000 children in foster care in Los Angeles County. Foster youth that left foster care at age18 encountered barriers, which put them at higher risk for homelessness and lower academic achievement, which contributes to the poor outcomes of this population (Jones, 2019). To help improve outcomes of these foster youth, the State of California signed into law Assembly Bill 12 (AB12), Fostering Connections to Success Act (AB12; 2010). The Fostering Connections to Success Act allows current and former foster youth to extend foster care services voluntarily and remain in foster care until the age of twenty-one years, as non-minor dependents (NMD). The focus of Extended Foster Care is to increase favorable outcomes for NMDs by preparing them for their transition into self-sufficient adults. This policy analysis explores whether the Extended Foster Care provisions included in AB12 have achieved the intended goals of supporting transitional age foster youth, utilizing the Jimenez Theory Framework (Jimenez, Chambers, Pasztor, & Fujii, 2015). Keywords: AB12, extended foster care, transition, foster care, non-minor dependent, transitional age youth, social justice, social work.