Children and youth in care often lose touch with supportive adults because transportation becomes a barrier to maintaining those relationships. Caseworkers and foster parents can sometimes provide this transportation, but your system should make sure that good transportation options are available. Provide reliable transportation options to keep children and youth connected with their supportive adults.

How to do this

Provide transit passes or ride-hailing app stipends for older youth. Youth can often navigate to their supportive adults on their own if they have the financial support to do so.

Ask supportive adults to provide transportation. This can be a great way to keep youth connected with their supportive adults, and is often an activity adults are happy to provide and simply don’t know is needed.

Provide transportation directly through volunteers or contracting with paid services. In some systems, CASAs (court-appointed special advocates) are allowed to provide transportation. Make sure all drivers meet background check requirements.

This strategy in action

Hawaii has a volunteer network with background-checked drivers who transport youth to visits with supportive adults, as well as other activities like afterschool programs.

New Hampshire uses a paid transportation service with drivers who have passed background checks to support visits to supportive adults.