2006 National Convening on Youth Permanence Strengthens a National Movement for Lifelong Family Connections

The 2006 National Convening on Youth Permanence was hosted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and its direct service agency, Casey Family Services, to raise the need for lifelong families for older children and youth in foster care to a national platform. The event gathered more than twice the number of participants than in four previous years of similar meetings and galvanized an unprecedented base of support for radically rethinking child welfare policy and practice.

In large part, the 2006 Convening dispelled the myth that adolescents in foster care are too old or too troubled for a family and gained endorsement of a set of strategies that can form the basis of plans of action in each of the participating states. Proponents believe that for youth in state care to be successful and emotionally healthy in adulthood, they need to leave the system in a planned manner that connects then to lifelong families. Permanence can be achieved in several ways, with legal permanence as the most secure outcome. Options range from reunification with birth and extended family, placement with relatives, guardianship and adoption.

With a clear focus on the urgency of the need, the convening highlighted the more than 250,000 out of 517,000 children in foster care who are age 11 and older for whom the prospects of adoption, reunification or legal guardianship are poor. Older children who remain in care are primarily children of color and experience significant mental health challenges resulting from past abuse and neglect compounded by multiple placements and relationship disruptions. These are the children who will most likely emancipate from the child welfare system alone and at higher risk of homelessness, involvement with the criminal justice system, unemployment, and early parenting.

As a result, participants reported overwhelmingly they believe that permanence for older children and youth in foster care is possible, powerful, and must become a national policy priority. Already the leadership from several states have reported follow-up discussions in their own jurisdictions with an eye toward developing and implementing plans of action to reduce the number of youth who age out of the foster care system without an enduring, lifelong relationship with a caring, supportive family.

Convening co-sponsors included Casey Family Programs, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the Freddie Mac Foundation, the Hite Foundation, the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, and the Stuart Foundation. The Sixth National Convening will be held in May 2008.

Download a complete summary of the 2006 National Convening on Youth Permanence. (PDF)