Youth often misunderstand when their foster care ends, sometimes by an entire year. In a multi-state learning sprint with older foster youth, Think of Us found that when youth hear that foster care goes “until 21,” they believe that means “until their 22nd birthday,” when really it means that it ends on their 21st birthday.
If a youth believes that they have an entire extra year in foster care, they may accidentally delay plans and activities that can prepare them for independence. Using precise language to describe the day that foster care ends will help avoid this confusion.
Conduct an inventory of your program materials that reference the end of foster care (like posters, pamphlets, website content, and handouts). Replace any references to “until 21” with “to the end of 20” or “until your 21st birthday.” If your program ends at a different age, follow this same pattern.
Think of Us is conducting a study to identify the best language to use in this scenario. This page will be updated with the results.