Foster Care Alumni's Experience of Emerging Adulthood

AUTHOR: Coral Sciscoe
FACULTY: Jen Wallin-Ruschman
DEPARTMENT: Psychology

ABSTRACT

This study asks how the experience of foster care itself impacts the emerging adulthood experience of foster care alumni. In the foster care community, alumni’s stories are often overtaken by superficially positive propaganda-like narratives that promote the recruitment of foster families. For this reason, we used a community-based participatory approach to keep the data rooted in alumni's voices. We focused on interviewing participants between the ages of 18 and 35 about their foster care experience and their lives post foster care pertaining to emerging adulthood life events such as gaining independence, establishing personal values, and obtaining basic needs such as housing and financial stability. We offered virtual interviews, in-person interviews, and an anonymous survey to make our involvement opportunity as accessible as possible to the alumni community. The data were analyzed using narrative and thematic content analysis. After preliminary findings were established, they were shared with participants who had the option to provide feedback via email or an alternative format. This was the major part of our member check-in to further ensure our data are consistently rooted in and reflecting the voices of alumni community members. After the analysis was complete, a final meeting with participants was offered to discuss recommended actions based on the findings. Preliminary findings indicate that there is a lack of professional support for alumni during and after their time in foster care. Additionally, they suggest that the survival mechanisms utilized impact the interpreted meanings of the foster care experience later in life. Our hope is that this data will help illuminate the unique challenges faced by those who have experienced foster care and offer empowering solutions for the foster care community.