Financial Empowerment Toolkit
According to the White House, more than 400,000 children are in the U.S. foster care system, and more than 100,000 children are waiting to be adopted. Every year, 23,000 of these youth age out of foster care without a permanent placement. These young people often face challenges, including completing their education, finding employment, struggling with financial security, and landing in the criminal justice system. In response, the White House announced new steps to support foster youth, including “A Financial Empowerment Toolkit for Youth and Young Adults in Foster Care” (PDF, 39 pages) and a series of corresponding tipsheets developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Children, Youth, and Families and Office of Community Services.
The toolkit is designed to provide caseworkers, independent living skills providers, foster parents, and other supportive adults with strategies and resources to critically evaluate and improve their current abilities to promote the financial capabilities of youth in foster care. It is designed for those who work with two populations: those under the age of 18 and young adults who are preparing to transition out of the foster care system.
The toolkit comprises lessons learned, best practices, and practical tools. These items can be used together or separately to help service providers methodically choose and integrate new system strategies, programs, and interventions to improve the financial capacities of the youth they serve. Additionally, stakeholders can tailor the content and tools to meet the needs, intended outcomes, and characteristics of the populations they serve.
Download the toolkit and tipsheets:
- A Financial Empowerment Toolkit for Youth and Young Adults in Foster Care (PDF, 39 pages)
- Know Your Credit History: How to Interpret a Credit Report (PDF, 2 pages)
- Get Tax Savvy: What You Need to Know About Taxes (PDF, 3 pages)
- Creating a Credit Profile: How To Build Your Credit (PDF, 3 pages)
- Protect Yourself and Your Stuff: What You Need to Know About Insurance (PDF, 3 pages)