SOUL Family Framework for Older Youth in Foster Care

The SOUL Fam­i­ly frame­work can be used by states to cre­ate an addi­tion­al per­ma­nen­cy path­way that includes a cir­cle of car­ing adults who pro­vide sup­port, oppor­tu­ni­ty, uni­ty and legal rela­tion­ships for young peo­ple ages 16 and old­er as they move from fos­ter care to adult­hood. At this crit­i­cal point of devel­op­ment, young peo­ple need the anchor of a nur­tur­ing, life­long family.

For young peo­ple in fos­ter care, the cur­rent legal options for per­ma­nence are adop­tion, guardian­ship and reuni­fi­ca­tion with their birth fam­i­lies. These options forge fam­i­lies that ben­e­fit many young peo­ple. How­ev­er, young peo­ple have made it clear that these options do not meet the needs of all. Each year, about 20,000 young peo­ple age out of fos­ter care with­out a legal, per­ma­nent fam­i­ly, and they need support.

Young adult advo­cates with fos­ter care expe­ri­ence cre­at­ed the SOUL Fam­i­ly frame­work to help states expand pos­si­ble per­ma­nen­cy path­ways. The inno­va­tors are Jim Casey Fel­lows sup­port­ed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

What Is SOUL Fam­i­ly for Old­er Youth in Care?

The SOUL Fam­i­ly frame­work expands poten­tial per­ma­nen­cy path­ways by estab­lish­ing a con­nec­tion between a young per­son and at least one car­ing adult, ensur­ing young peo­ple exit fos­ter care with a sup­port sys­tem as they tran­si­tion into adulthood.

Unlike adop­tion or guardian­ship, the SOUL Fam­i­ly frame­work would give states a way to build a path­way to allow young peo­ple to make these new con­nec­tions with­out sev­er­ing their legal ties with birth par­ents and siblings.

When reuni­fi­ca­tion with their birth fam­i­ly isn’t pos­si­ble but main­tain­ing bonds with loved ones and com­mu­ni­ty is healthy and desir­able, SOUL Fam­i­ly offers young peo­ple choices.

Advanc­ing the SOUL Fam­i­ly Framework

The Casey Foun­da­tion is invest­ing in sev­er­al strate­gies and part­ner­ships to advance the SOUL Fam­i­ly frame­work, including:

• Sup­port­ing a net­work of young adults with fos­ter care expe­ri­ence to improve per­ma­nen­cy out­comes for old­er youth. These lead­ers are advo­cat­ing to inform deci­sion mak­ers about what young peo­ple want and need.
• Rais­ing the need for an array of com­mu­ni­ty-based ser­vices that sup­port young people’s well-being and suc­cess beyond fos­ter care. Young peo­ple who leave fos­ter care con­tin­ue to need help to heal from trau­ma, thrive in a new fam­i­ly and pre­pare for adult­hood. Many need help secur­ing jobs, com­plet­ing col­lege and find­ing safe hous­ing. Pub­lic sys­tems should con­tin­ue to sup­port them dur­ing this key devel­op­men­tal window. 
• Fund­ing demon­stra­tion sites to design and imple­ment strate­gies to improve per­ma­nen­cy path­ways, includ­ing ways to incor­po­rate the SOUL Fam­i­ly framework.
• Sup­port­ing a learn­ing com­mu­ni­ty of juris­dic­tions focused on improv­ing per­ma­nen­cy out­comes for old­er youth and explor­ing the SOUL Fam­i­ly framework.
• Devel­op­ing infor­ma­tion­al resources and shar­ing lessons to cre­ate a youth-led move­ment to do bet­ter by young peo­ple and help states and juris­dic­tions offer the type of life­long fam­i­ly con­nec­tions that sup­port their needs and well-being.

Read SOUL Fam­i­ly: The Ori­gin Sto­ry