Ky.gov
Effective: 01/08/2026

C12.4 Opportunities and Advocacy for Transition Age Youth in Care

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Transition-age youth in out-of-home care (OOHC) have unique needs and challenges as they prepare for adulthood. Professional staff with the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) and partner agencies specialize in providing support and advocacy for transition-age youth, as well as providing guidance and consultation to the child welfare staff who work with them. Additionally, the Chafee Program provides opportunities and empowers youth to develop self-advocacy and life skills, build relationships, and acquire resources to support them into adulthood.  ​​​​​​

Practice Guidance

​The following services are available through the Chafee Program:

  • The Kentucky Resources for Independence Success and Empowerment (KY RISE) portal and mobile app provide a full array of resources for transition-age youth in one location. The site and app provide helpful information about resources and services available to current and former foster youth, including education benefits, housing options, and aftercare services. Transition-age foster youth can use the portal or mobile app to access such services as ordering a birth certificate, life skills training, an exit survey, and a request to return to care. Resources for caregivers are also available on the KY RISE mobile app;
  • Regional KY RISE events, hosted in partnership by transitional living specialists (TLSs) and Western Kentucky University (WKU) Life Skills Center, are aimed at providing youth, foster parents, and service providers an opportunity to learn about resources and benefits available to foster youth while building relationships. TLSs also collaborate with the WKU Life Skills Center to host regional educational events aimed at supporting foster youth in exploring educational opportunities and developing independent living skills;
  • Voices of the Commonwealth (VOC) is a statewide advisory council group open to youth between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-three (23) who are currently, or have previously been, in foster care. The advisory council intends to provide former and current foster youth with an opportunity to educate the public and policymakers about the needs of youth in foster care. The advisory council also seeks to change negative stereotypes about foster kids and create a speaker’s bureau of youth. The council works to educate current foster youth about the resources and benefits that are available to youth in OOHC;
  • DCBS partners with WKU Life Skills Center to host an annual statewide youth empowerment conference. The purpose of the conference is to provide current foster youth who are between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-one (21) an opportunity to network with their peers and develop independent living skills while being empowered through national keynote speakers and workshops;
  • Life Skills Reimagined by LYFT Learning is a curriculum for transition-age youth aged sixteen (16) and older. It includes instruction on obtaining a job, independent living, resiliency, career planning, developing and maintaining healthy relationships, financial literacy, and communication skills. Youth are incentivized for completion of the LYFT Learning curriculum;
  • Earn and Learn supports current foster youth, those adopted from care at age sixteen (16) or older, and those who transitioned from care at age eighteen (18) or older, in boosting their earning potential through the completion of short-term vocational programs or earning their GED. Participants earn wages while pursuing a short-term training certificate in a high-demand field. Participants can select a program that can be completed in a year or less from the wide selection available through the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Youth can enroll part-time or full-time, and classes can be online or in person at their local KCTCS campus.
  • Fostering Success is a ten (10) week workforce development initiative that provides current foster youth, those adopted from OOHC at age sixteen (16) or older, and those who transitioned from care at age eighteen (18) or older, the opportunity to participate in a paid internship, while receiving professional development and career planning support.
  • Aetna Supporting Kentucky Youth (SKY) benefits include the Connections for Life program, which may provide smartphones or laptops to eligible youth who are not in stable placements to help them stay connected to their support systems. Aetna SKY also incentivizes participating in certain activities that support mental and physical health and wellness. They also provide support for education, employment, and other activities.  Full details for the support provided by Aetna SKY can be found in the member guide. 
  • Various social media platforms host pages established specifically for sharing information to support transition-age youth, including Kentucky Rise  Facebook​, Kentucky Rise Instagram,  and Kentucky RISE - YouTube.  


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Procedure

​The SSW:

  1. Works in partnership with the TLS to ensure transition-age youth in OOHC are aware of supports and opportunities that may assist them in preparing for adulthood;
  2. Refers committed youth aged sixteen (16) to twenty-one (21), and those youth who request assistance following release from commitment, to contact the regional TLS; 
  3. Reviews the transition plan in the case planning conference and thereafter at subsequent periodic reviews for all youth age seventeen (17) or over; 
  4. Supports the youth in making well-informed decisions about their future, transition to adulthood, well-being, and other aspects of their case and permanency planning; and 
  5. Notifies the TLS of periodic reviews for youth aged seventeen (17) and over.
The Transitional Living Specialist (TLS):
  1. Supports child welfare staff in the regions by providing consultation and guidance in meeting the needs of transition-age youth;
  2. Convenes and facilitates formal transition planning meetings for youth aged seventeen (17) and older;
  3. Serves as an advocate for transition-age youth in the region, including:
    1. ​Ensuring youth are aware of their rights;
    2. Planning and hosting regional events and independent living coalition meetings;
    3. Identifying transition-age youth and connecting them to needed supports that empower them and prepare them for adulthood;
    4. Participation in case planning conferences and working in partnership to develop a transition plan for youth in OOHC; and 
    5. Facilitation of meetings to support transition-age youth at various milestones, including readiness to drive meetings, campus consult meetings, or return to care meetings.  
​​Other Transitional Services Branch Staff:
  1. ​Provide support and consultation to staff in the region, community partners, private child care (PCC) and contract providers, and the TLS to ensure the needs of transition-age youth are met;
  2. Assess the needs of transition-age youth as a whole and provide administrative support for obtaining services to meet those needs;
  3. Collaborate with the VOC to improve services and support for youth in OOHC;
  4. Plan and host the annual Youth Empowerment Conference;
  5. Advocate for transition-age youth in OOHC through policy development, resource development, procurement, or development of training, and other administrative functions; and 
  6. Administer programs and services that support transition-age youth, including administrative functions for annual credit checks, issuing educational training vouchers, tuition waivers, and ensuring compliance with the National Youth Transition Database (NYTD) services and surveys.  


Documents

Revisions