Improving Child Welfare Practice With the Power of Adolescent Brain Development

Adolescent Brain Development

POSTED JULY 22, 2017, BY THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION:
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Every year in America, too many young adults leave foster care without a family or the opportunities needed to succeed.
Yet, child welfare professionals and caregivers can help these youth better navigate the path toward a healthy adulthood — and a new report from the Casey Foundation's Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative tells how.
The Road to Adulthood: Aligning Child Welfare Practice With Adolescent Brain Development explores the latest research on adolescent brain development through the lens of racial and ethnic equity and inclusion and then relates this research to youth who have experienced foster care.
The report offers recommendations for helping foster care youth and alum succeed in four areas: 1) permanence; 2) educational attainment and economic security; 3) stable housing; and 4) parenting of their own children.
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