Child Welfare
Research Documents the Importance of “Enduring Relationships” for Foster Youth
December 01, 2023 | NWI
Enduring relationships have real consequences for foster youth, reducing the risk of negative outcomes in early adulthood, such as food insecurity, economic hardship, and homelessness. They were also more likely to experience positive outcomes, such as having greater earnings and finishing some college. Surprisingly, the number of individuals the youth said they had in their network was not a key factor. What mattered was the enduring quality of the relationships – people that stuck with them, through thick and thin, over a period of time.