Overall, about 15% of the sample reported some form of criminal justice involvement in early adulthood, but this rate was twice as high for the control group compared to those who had been randomly assigned to receive the mentoring intervention 2-3 years prior. This study extended the evaluation of the My Life mentoring program to test for long-term effects on criminal justice involvement two years post-intervention. The My Life weekly mentoring model for foster youth in high school uses individual and group mentoring strategies to enhance understanding and application of self-determination skills in ways that improve outcomes as youth transition from foster care. This study addressed fundamental questions regarding the capacity of youth mentoring programs designed for at-risk populations to prevent criminal offending in early adulthood. Providing all youth with a collaborative, supportive process with trained external facilitators may support greater access to services and improved perceptions of readiness for independent living after discharge. Qualitative findings from open-ended questions suggest that the transition meetings were helpful as they provided an opportunity to plan and set goals that went beyond planning that had already occurred. At 3-month follow up, significant improvements occurred in the youth’s perceptions of support deficits, confidence they could access services, financial and housing security, employment, and legal issues. A pre-post design involved data collection from youth and caseworkers. This study sought to understand youth outcomes and perceptions of an innovative, statewide program using a youth-driven team decision-making model in transition planning meetings. Despite the critical need for effective programs for older youth exiting from foster care, little is known about the outcomes of transition support programs or how they are perceived by youth.
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