Abstract
Youth in foster care have additional considerations when transitioning to college mental health services. Frequently, high school graduation coincides with reaching the legal age of majority resulting in multiple transitions for youth in foster care. There are additional options to leave state services and increase autonomy. This chapter details the story of a young man with ADHD and a mild intellectual disability who had been in state custody while maintaining communication with his birth mother. Ultimately, his transition plan assumed that an adolescent with multiple disabilities would choose to remain in the custody of the state because of the services provided and likely underestimated his intrinsic desire to reconnect with his mother. The case discussion looks at the importance of shared decision-making with foster youth, creating multifaceted treatment plans that incorporate the youth voice, and the importance of early transition planning for youth in state custody.
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Skehan, B. (2018). Fostering Transitions to College: Considerations for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care. In: Martel, A., Derenne, J., Leebens, P. (eds) Promoting Safe and Effective Transitions to College for Youth with Mental Health Conditions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68894-7_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68894-7_26
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