Evaluation of The Duke Endowment’s Child and Family Well-Being Transition-aged Youth Portfolio

Research indicates that programs for transition-aged youth should be designed to be relationship-centered and focused on individualized support. While only a small number of interventions have rigorous evaluations showing causal effects, research consistently points to several factors associated with positive outcomes: supportive adult relationships, meaningful youth engagement, trauma-informed and developmentally appropriate services, coordinated supports across systems, and extended foster care. Across housing, education, employment, health, and independent living programs, relationship-centered and individualized approaches emerged as important program components associated with successful transitions to adulthood. These components likely need to be delivered across a continuum of supportive services that work in tandem to meet young people's needs.

When services are available to youth ages 14 to 23, they can access services when they are ready and complete them without being rushed. Based on the literature review and interviews, we found no single “best” age to begin or conclude services; however, research and direct service providers strongly support engaging youth early in adolescence (e.g., around age 14) and providing services into the mid-20s, beyond age 21 (e.g., age 23), when formal foster care ends. This allows young people to engage in services throughout that period or only for a short time when needed. Early engagement allows providers to build trusting relationships, support the development of life skills, and prepare youth for adulthood before they exit care. Longer service duration is associated with improved housing, education, and relationship outcomes, and youth consistently report that transition services often end too soon or feel rushed.

The most pressing needs among transition-aged youth in North Carolina and South Carolina are mental health, housing, and supportive relationships. These needs are interconnected and often underpin success in other domains, such as employment and education. While one program is unlikely to meet all of a transition-aged youth’s needs, programs should consider providing services or developing partnerships with other providers to make referrals to support transition-aged youth with their mental health and housing needs—and to build relationships—across a continuum of services.

Providers in North Carolina and South Carolina reported several barriers to developing and implementing programs to meet the needs of transition-aged youth. These barriers included significant capacity challenges, including workforce shortages, staff turnover, limited funding, and uneven service availability across communities. Many providers described a need for more flexible funding to support staffing, infrastructure, long-term program operations, and evaluation. At the same time, providers highlighted the innovative ways they provide services to transition-aged youth despite these challenges.

Despite challenges, TDE-funded grantees reported positive outcomes across multiple domains, including housing stability, educational attainment, employment, health, and community connectedness. All but one grantee was still operating the funded program, which offers an encouraging sign of grantees’ commitment to—and the sustainability of—promising practices for transition-aged youth. A common theme across the portfolio was the importance of youth-centered, relationship-based approaches that emphasized individualized case management, strengths-based goal setting, trauma-informed practice, and sustained support from caring adults. Grantees also highlighted meaningful youth engagement and strong public-private partnerships as critical factors for program success and innovation.

Successful transitions to adulthood require coordinated, flexible, and long-term supports, rather than reliance on any single program model. Based on the findings, we recommend that TDE and other philanthropic funders do the following:

• Expand supports to reach youth in early adolescence and continue services longer (e.g., ages 14–23).
• Invest in building evidence for a continuum of services, including promising and innovative programs.
• Consider whether the threshold of demonstrated effectiveness TDE uses for the “Implementation Support” portfolio is conducive to the types of programs serving transition-aged youth.
• Invest in programs that provide individualized support tailored to young people’s needs.
• Prioritize funding for mental health, housing, and relationship-based supports.
• Elevate youth voice in designing programs and evaluations and shaping funding priorities.
• Provide flexible funding that strengthens organizational and workforce capacity.
• Support advocacy efforts that improve cross-system coordination and expand access to extended foster care and other public resources.
• Convene key service providers, state agency officials, and other philanthropic organizations to create coalitions and build momentum for policies and practices focused on transition-aged youth.