Youth who are nearing age 18 in foster care will have opportunities to discuss extended foster care with their caseworker and other supportive individuals during the process of transition planning.
If you are in foster care and getting close to age 18, it’s important to plan for your future and talk about your goals with your family services worker. You can choose to stay in foster care past 18 if you want. With Continuous Foster Care (CFC), your case can stay open until you turn 23. If you leave foster care in Idaho but later decide you want to return before age 23, you may be able to join Voluntary Post-18 Foster Care (VFC).
Young adults in extended foster care (EFC) have a variety of options. Some young adults, in agreement with the resource family, continue to reside in their current foster placement. Others choose to reside with other supports such as extended family or friends or reside in their own apartment or home. When the young adult wishes to live independently, outside of a licensed placement, the young adult must speak with their caseworker to help determine whether the placement option is safe and appropriate, and a Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) application will be submitted.
The Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) allows for the young adult to live independently and receive a monthly maintenance payment to assist with room and board. The young adult must demonstrate a level of maturity and responsibility that is appropriate for a SILP to qualify. They must be able to manage expectations without daily supervision and minimal case management. Some examples of SILP settings may include an apartment or home, shared housing, host homes, or college dorms.
Young adults who opt out of EFC and exit foster care at 18 still have the option to return to extended foster care or EFC at any time before their 23rd birthday.
Young adults participating in voluntary extended foster care must meet the same requirements outlined for continuous extended foster care. Voluntary extended foster care provides the same placement opportunities as continuous foster care, including the Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) option if the young adult qualifies.
A voluntary foster care case cannot be open for more than 180 days. The young adult will sign a program agreement on the first day of the voluntary EFC case.
Just as in continuous foster care, the young adult can also terminate the voluntary foster care agreement at any time.
To participate in continuous foster care (CFC), the young adult must have their foster care case extended through a court order before turning 18, while being in the legal custody of Child and Family Services (CFS) or Tribal Court in Idaho. The young adult must be meeting at least one of the following requirements:
- Completing a high school diploma or a program leading to an equivalent credential, such as a GED;
- Enrolled in an educational institution which provides post-secondary or vocational education;
- Participating in a program or activity designed to promote, or remove barriers to, employment;
- Employed for at least 80 hours per month, OR
- Incapable of doing any of the activities described above due to a documented medical condition.
Participants in the extended foster care program can transition between the above criteria to meet extended foster care (EFC) requirements. If a young adult participating in EFC is no longer meeting one of the above requirements, there will be a 30-calendar day grace period to assist the young adult in becoming eligible. After 30 calendar days, one of the criteria must be met or the EFC case will be terminated.
A young adult participating in continuous extended foster care (EFC) is not required to participate until their 23rd birthday. The young adult is able to terminate this agreement at any time.