Findings from new reports on Transition Age Foster Care Youth and Homelessness
Jenny A. Hutchison, MBA, PhD
Research Associate
UNC Charlotte Urban Institute
In June 2025, Mecklenburg County Community Support Services released two reports examining Transition-Age Foster Care Youth and Homelessness. The first report looks at older youth who experience foster care and the association with homelessness between ages 18 and 21. The second report in the series looks specifically at youth who are eligible for Extended Foster Care – which provides support services and financial support for housing for youth who age out of the foster care system. For this report homelessness is defined as accessing local homeless services such spending the night at an emergency shelter.
This blog outlines key findings from the reports and what these findings mean for Mecklenburg County.
WHO IS IN THE STUDY?
Report 1: This study included 673 older youth, ages 13 to 17, who experienced foster care in Mecklenburg County between 2009 and 2019.
Report 2: This study looked at a subset of youth from the first study, which included 215 youth who were eligible for North Carolina’s current Extended Foster Care program, or youth who remained in foster care until their 18th birthday (also known as “Aging Out” or “Emancipated”) between 2014 and 2019.
Report 2 sample is a subset of report 1.
KEY FINDINGS
Limited episodes of homelessness: The first report found that, of the youth who experienced foster care as an older youth, 7.4% experienced homelessness between the ages of 18 and 21. However, young adults are more likely to rely on alternatives to traditional homeless services such as ‘couch surfing’ (Morton et al., 2018).
Remaining in foster care until age 18 can impact the risk of homelessness: Youth who remained in foster care up to their 18th birthday represented the largest portion of those who were homeless as young adults (58%).
Lack of differences in homelessness between young adults who participated in Extended Foster Care and those who did not: An examination of the smaller population of youth who were eligible for Extended Foster Care found no statistically significant differences in homelessness between those that opted into the service and those that did not. This is inconsistent with much of the literature available on Extended Foster Care programs, indicating Extended Foster Care helps in reducing the risk of homelessness (Courtney et al., 2018; Kelly, 2020; Lee & Holmes, 2021; Liu, 2020; Nuñez et al., 2022; Prince et al., 2019; Rosenberg & Abbott, 2019).
SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
This report supports Mecklenburg County’s research objectives through its cross-sectoral and intentional use of data to reveal populations that need the most housing support. To assist young adults aging out of foster care, our community needs to be creative in finding ways to connect with these young adults. One idea that might be beneficial is recruiting individuals with foster care experience to serve as peer advisors and/or housing navigators. In addition, other communities have found that providing case managers with increased training in working with older youth helped improve outcomes (Park et al., 2022). Finally, as the state and county continue to improve data systems for the child welfare system, efforts to improve longitudinal data would help to better understand youth’s full experience with the system over time.
A full discussion of the methods for each report can be found in separate Briefs (first Methods report Methods Brief and second report Methods Brief).
ADDITIONAL READING AND RESOURCES
Report from CalYOUTH: Findings on the relationship between extended foster care and youth’s outcomes at age 21. https://www.chapinhall.org/research/improved-outcomes-at-age-21-for-youth-in-extended-foster-care/
Missed opportunities: Pathways from foster care to youth homelessness in America. https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/Chapin-Hall_VoYC_Child-Welfare-Brief_2019-FINAL.pdf
Risk and protective factors contributing to homelessness among foster care youth: An analysis of the National Youth in Transition Database. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104589
Longitudinal trajectories of behavioral problems among children in out-of-home care: A systematic review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740921001651
Prevalence and correlates of youth homelessness in the United States. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.006
Resilience factors in youth transitioning out of foster care: A systematic review. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001096
County-Level Factors Matter: The Role of Contextual Factors in Foster Youths’ Extended Foster Care Participation and Human Capital Outcomes. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595221088226
Effects of individual risk and state housing factors on adverse outcomes in a national sample of youth transitioning out of foster care. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.05.004
Supporting older youth beyond age 18: Examining data and trends in extended foster care https://www.childtrends.org/publications/supporting-older-youth-beyond-age-18-examining-data-and-trends-in-extended-foster-care
