Eyes on California: Extended Foster Care as a Tool to Prevent Youth Homelessness

This webinar featured a study from the Transition-Age Youth Research and Evaluation Hub (TAY-Hub), which conducted an analysis linking CalYOUTH and state administrative data to better understand how extended foster care and the types of placements young people receive shape their risk of homelessness.

The study found that nearly 1 in 5 youth experience homelessness between ages 17 and 19; youth who exit care before age 19 are three times more likely to experience homelessness than those who stay; and supportive housing placements—specifically the Transitional Housing Placement for Non-Minor Dependents (THP-NMD) and Foster Family Agency (FFA) homes—stand out as the strongest protections against homelessness.

The session was moderated by JBAY, featuring TAY-Hub Co-Director, Dr. Mark Courtney who walked participants through the research, followed by Selena Liu-Raphael with the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, who discussed county-level differences in supportive placements, youth engagement, and opportunities to strengthen California’s extended foster care system.