Extended Foster Care

Extended Foster Care (EFC) allows eligible young adults who turn 18 in foster care to voluntarily remain in a structured, supportive environment while transitioning into adulthood. Rather than aging out abruptly, young adults can continue to receive placement, casework support, and court oversight until age 21 or age 22 if they are still completing high school or a GED program.

EFC is voluntary and young adult-led. The process is guided by the young adult’s wants and needs for transitional support during this critical time. EFC helps support young adults as they transition to adulthood by providing a caseworker and maintaining the appointments of their Attorney Ad Litem and Guardian Ad Litem (usually a CASA volunteer), who can be an ongoing support system and advocate for and mentor the young adult as they manage critical life decisions in the areas of medical care, education, workforce development, and housing.

Encouraging young adults to remain in Extended Foster Care (EFC) in Texas is critical because it provides continued stability, support, and access to essential resources during a pivotal transition into adulthood. Young adults who stay in EFC are more likely to complete high school, pursue higher education or employment, maintain stable housing, and access physical and mental health care.

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Extended Foster Care Program Guide

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Each year in Texas, an average of 1,000 young people age out of foster care. At the same time, the number of older youth entering care continues to rise, and even more continue to exit care without achieving legal permanence. Many of these young people face the realities of adulthood without the support most 18-year-olds count on, such as safe housing, an education, job opportunities, health insurance, and emotional support. The challenges youth face after aging out are significant. Between 31–46% of former foster youth experience homelessness by age 26, only about half are employed by age 24, one in four become involved with the criminal justice system within two years of leaving care, and fewer than 10% earn a college degree. Many also face increased risks of exploitation, early pregnancy, and mental health challenges.

These realities underscore the critical need for Extended Foster Care (EFC).

This EFC Program Guide was created to support local CASA programs in enhancing their advocacy for older youth and young adults in care. We hope this resource equips you with practical tools and information while reinforcing the powerful impact CASA volunteers and staff have on the lives of youth transitioning to adulthood.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped bring these resources to life!

  • Sarah D. Worthington, MSSW, JD, Attorney and Director, Texas Foster Youth Justice Project
  • Alina White, Lead Extended Care/SIL Program Specialist, DFPS
  • Valerie Hallam, Director of Systems Advancement, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS)

We’re incredibly grateful for their expertise and collaboration in creating these valuable resources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Without strong support, young adults aging out face higher risks of:

  • Homelessness.
  • Unemployment.
  • Exploitation or trafficking.
  • Early pregnancy.
  • Mental health crises.
  • Criminal justice involvement.
  • Lack of educational attainment.

Housing Stability

  • Help youth explore housing options, including Supervised Independent Living (SIL) placements, transitional living, campus housing, and other extended foster care placements.
  • Advocate for stable housing that supports education, employment, transportation, and emotional well-being.
  • Identify and address housing instability early and support transition planning before age 18.
  • Help youth obtain key documents needed for housing and encourage participation in support and permanency planning meetings.
  • Connect youth to community resources (food, transportation, utilities, furnishings, emergency assistance) and build independent living skills such as budgeting, communication, and lease understanding.
  • Advocate in court for stable placements and continued support.

Educational Stability

  • Advocate for school stability, attendance, and high school completion while encouraging continued participation in EFC through graduation.
  • Help youth access tutoring, GED, college preparation, vocational training, certifications, financial aid, scholarships, and campus supports.
  • Advocate for educational accommodations (IEPs, 504 plans) and collaborate with schools, caregivers, and caseworkers to address barriers to success.
  • Reinforce education as a pathway to long-term independence and stability.

Employment Stability

  • Encourage career exploration and future planning based on youth interests and strengths.
  • Connect youth to job readiness programs, internships, workforce services, and vocational opportunities.
  • Support employment-related life skills, including communication, professionalism, budgeting, and time management.
  • Help address barriers to employment (transportation, documentation, scheduling, childcare) and advocate for services that support job retention.
  • Celebrate successes, build confidence, and encourage relationships with supportive adults and mentors.

Mental Health Advocacy

  • Build trusting relationships that promote emotional safety, stability, and youth self-expression.
  • Share resources for and encourage participation in counseling, therapy, and trauma-informed, youth-centered mental health services.
  • Help identify signs of anxiety, depression, trauma, self-harm, or emotional distress and advocate for continuity of care during transitions.
  • Encourage healthy coping skills, self-care, and supportive relationships while reducing barriers to services (transportation, scheduling, insurance).
  • Ensure youth understand their mental health rights, available resources, and can participate in decisions affecting their care.

Physical Health Advocacy

  • Ensure youth have access to routine medical, dental, vision, and preventative healthcare.
  • Encourage youth participation in managing appointments, medications, insurance, and healthcare decisions.
  • Advocate for timely medical evaluations, follow-up care, accommodations, and access to needed health records.
  • Support healthy lifestyle habits related to nutrition, sleep, exercise, wellness, and independent healthcare management.

Behavioral Health Advocacy

  • Advocate for behavioral health assessments, individualized treatment plans, and access to substance use or recovery supports when needed.
  • Encourage trauma-informed, supportive, and rehabilitative interventions rather than punitive responses.
  • Help identify triggers, unmet needs, and underlying trauma contributing to behaviors while advocating for appropriate services.
  • Encourage positive activities, mentoring, peer supports, and collaboration among providers, caregivers, schools, probation, and caseworkers to promote long-term stability and success.
  • Help youth understand their rights, responsibilities, and available supports while in EFC.
  • Encourage youth participation in court hearings and transition planning meetings.
  • Advocate for youth to receive clear and developmentally appropriate explanations from professionals and attorneys.
  • Monitor whether court orders, services, and supports are being appropriately implemented.
  • Help youth obtain and maintain important legal and personal documents, including:
    • Birth certificate.
    • Social Security card.
    • State identification or driver’s license.
    • Health insurance information.
    • Educational records.
  • Build supportive, trusting relationships that encourage confidence, independence, and personal growth.
  • Help youth set realistic goals for education, employment, housing, and overall well-being.
  • Encourage decision-making, problem-solving, time management, organization, and personal responsibility skills.
  • Support development of independent living skills, including budgeting, banking, paying bills, housing responsibilities, grocery planning, and maintaining a safe living space.
  • Encourage employment readiness through job applications, resumes, interview preparation, workplace communication, and schedule management.
  • Support educational success through organization, deadline management, self-advocacy, and exploration of college, vocational training, or certification opportunities.
  • Encourage youth to independently manage healthcare appointments, transportation, and access to driver’s licenses or reliable transit options.
  • Support healthy relationship-building, communication, and self-advocacy skills to help youth express their needs and goals.
  • Help youth obtain, organize, and safely store important personal, medical, and educational documents.
  • Encourage participation in life skills programs, mentorship, community resources, and connections with supportive adults.
  • Celebrate progress, reinforce strengths, and advocate for opportunities that allow youth to safely practice independence with ongoing support.
  • Advocate for access to legal services, attorney support, and accommodations when barriers make compliance difficult.
  • Help youth understand housing agreements, SIL expectations, program rules, leases, employment paperwork, banking, and other legal responsibilities of adulthood.
  • Support youth in meeting requirements for court, probation, school, placement, and Extended Foster Care participation, including education, employment, vocational training, barrier-removal programs, or qualifying medical conditions.
  • Encourage permanency connections and supportive adult relationships that continue beyond Extended Foster Care.
  • Advocate in court for decisions that support the youth’s safety, stability, and successful transition to adulthood.
  • Texas CASA and National CASA standards apply to all cases, including young adults whose legal status is Extended Care. However, there may be variations in advocacy needs based on the agreement with the young adult. Ensure that any written agreements are logged and entered into the case management system.
  • Volunteers should enter a monthly contact log for their advocacy work for the young adult as per the agreement set with the young adult.
  • Monthly contact and visits with the young adult should continue and be entered into your case management system.
  • Based on the agreement with the young adult, medical, educational, connection, workforce and any additional advocacy should be logged in the case management system as it occurs per standards.
  • If there is no contact for a month, the volunteer should log the attempts to contact the young adult.
  • The CASA volunteer needs to get the young adult’s consent/permission and input on what advocacy looks like. Generally, programs have a document they review with the young adult that obtains the young adult’s consent for the CASA volunteer to continue advocacy. This will identify how the young adult and CASA volunteer will communicate in the future.
  • Trial independence is a unique case consideration, and it will be considered as such during a QA audit. As long as the agreement is in the file, QA will use the agreement to determine if advocacy expectations are being met.

Resources

DFPS Resources

Extended Foster Care Resource Guide View Here

Extended Care Trifold (English) View Here

Extended Care Trifold (Spanish) View Here

SIL Brochure View Here

DFPS Voluntary Agreement for Extended Care View Here

DFPS Extended Care Rights and Responsibilities View Here

CPS Policy Handbook § 10400 – Extended Foster Care for Young Adults who are Age 18 or Older View Here

Extended Court Jurisdiction Flowchart View Here

Extended Foster Care webpage View Here

Supervised Independent Living Webpage View Here

Transitional Living Services handout View Here

Resources for Young Adults

Texas Foster Youth Justice Project – Aging Out Resources View Here

Tuition and Fee Waiver FAQ View Here

Education and Training Voucher FAQ View Here

Transitional Living Services Resource Guide View Here

Transitional Living Services Handout View Here

Foster Youth Health Insurance Guide View Here

Return to Extended Foster Care Handout View Here

Resources for CASA Volunteers

Contract with young adult in Extended Care View Sample

Representing Older Young Adults in Care presentation View Here

Texas Children’s Commission Bench book View Here

Volunteer checklist View Here

Collaborative Family Engagement tools View Here

Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) View Here

Related Resources