What Does It Mean to Age Out of Foster Care?
October 9, 2025
This month we’ll be focusing on understanding the experiences and needs of youth who are moving beyond the child welfare system as they become adults.
This article by Youth Today explains what aging out means. While the statistics are grim, it’s important to remember that youth are more than statistics—they are vibrant humans who have already survived and thrived in very challenging circumstances. Below we’ll share some resources available in Vermont. Over the next few weeks we’ll look at other ways to support youth as they grow into adulthood.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway and the Juvenile Law Center offer overviews on extending foster care beyond the age of 18. If you are currently working a youth in DCF custody, talk with the youth’s worker about this possibility.
The Vermont Youth Development program works to help youth rise above risk factors and prosper.
The Vermont Family Network offers these resources for youth with physical and emotional disabilities.
- Caregiver Training & Resources – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership
- Podcast Library – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership
- Trauma Informed Practice/Parenting – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership
- Adoption – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership
- RPC + – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership
- VT-CWTP Publications, Annual Reports, and Newsletters – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership
- On-Line Learning – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership
