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Older Youth Need Families Too PDF Print E-mail
The National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) has been invited by two organizations to assist in addressing issues facing older youth. Casey Family Services recently held a conference on Youth Permanence. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is conducting an audio conference on June 12 titled Family Preservation for Older Youth.

These requests have generated an interest in looking at the numbers of older youth served through family preservation and reunification programs.  A quick inquiry found several preservation and reunification programs that serve families with youth ages 13–17 making up 30–50% of the total number of children involved. For one program that could provide outcome data by child’s age, families with teens remained intact at the same rate as families with younger children. Nationwide, about one third of the children who enter foster care are youth ages 13–17.

With all of the current emphasis on young children, it's somewhat surprising to discover that so many teens are involved in the child welfare system. Older youth appear to be "hidden" in the system with little data available on their characteristics, needs, services available to them, and outcomes.

NFPN would like to find out more about older youth and how they can be more effectively helped during their teen years, as they approach adulthood, and as young adults. NFPN promotes family preservation so we want to address this issue in the context of family for older youth: biological, kinship, guardianship, and adoptive families.

If your family preservation or reunification program has data on older youth, please share it with me, Priscilla Martens, NFPN Executive Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

You're invited to listen in to the audio conference on June 12 and here's the info:

Leadership to End Homelessness Audio Conference

Family Preservation for Older Youth
Thursday, June 12, 2008, at 3 p.m. ET

With at least one million youth on the streets and in shelter in America, and hundreds of thousands more leaving juvenile justice placement, mental health facilities, and child welfare systems, the problem of youth homelessness continues unabated. Research indicates that most youth flee homes due to severe conflict, abuse, and neglect. The issues propelling older youth into homelessness are often the same issues that drive younger children into child protection and foster care. Preventing youth homelessness before it occurs is a critical part of ending homelessness among youth. Some communities offer family preservation services to families with infants and younger children as a means of preventing an out-of-home placement. These same services should be offered to older adolescents experiencing family conflict and neglect, with the assurance that youth will only be returned to safe and nurturing families. A review of community responses and best practices in family preservation (which focus on resolving conflict and decreasing the incidence of abuse and neglect) will be offered with a special consideration toward practices geared toward older adolescents.

Featured Speakers
Anne Cornell, Chair of the National Family Preservation Network
Debby Shore, Executive Director at Sasha Bruce Youthwork

Listening to the Audio Conference is Easy!
Thanks to Capitol Connection, those with Internet audio capability can participate in this conference call free of charge via the web. For details on how to listen to the call through the webcast and submit questions by e-mail, click here.

For those wishing to participate by phone, the cost of the call will be approximately $30 and registration is required beforehand. To register, click here.
 
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