If you’ve been in or are currently in Extended Foster Care (EFC), we want to hear your thoughts! Your story can help us make EFC better for all young people in foster care. Plus, you could get rewarded for your time! 🎉

What’s Extended Foster Care (EFC)?

Extended Foster Care is when young people can stay in foster care past age 18 — usually up to 21 — to keep getting support with housing, school, or work while transitioning into adulthood. It’s different from Independent Living Services/Programs, because you’re technically still in care, just as a young adult.

Why Should You Participate?

We’re giving away ten $50 gift cards to survey participants, and everyone who participates in the focus group will get $200 for your time. Not bad, right? 

This survey and focus group are part of the National Collaborative for Transition Age Youth (NCTAY), where we’re gathering feedback from young people with lived experience in foster care, like you, to create the Playbook of Best Practices — a guide to help improve support for young people aging out of foster care. The Playbook will be published in Summer 2025, and your voice can directly shape how things improve for the next generation of youth in care.

What We Need From You

We’ve created a quick survey and are hosting a focus group. Both are your chance to share what’s working in EFC, what’s not, and how we can make things better for everyone.

Take the Survey!

It’s fast, easy, and will only take 10-20 minutes! You’ll be asked about your experiences with Extended Foster Care (EFC) — things like how you found out about it, what support you’ve received, and how ready you felt when leaving care.

• Who can take the survey? If you have been in or are currently in EFC, we want to hear from you!
• How long will it take? Just 10–20 minutes!
• What’s in the survey? We’ll ask about the support you’ve received, what’s worked, and what could be improved in EFC.

BONUS: 10 lucky survey participants will win a $50 gift card!

Deadline: June 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM PST

Join the Focus Group!

Want to go even deeper? Sign up for the focus group when you complete the survey! It’s an opportunity for discussion where you can share your story and help us figure out how EFC can better serve youth like you.

• Who can join the focus group? If you’ve been in or are currently in EFC, this is for you!
• What’s it like? It’s a small virtual group chat with 10-12 young people. We’ll listen to your ideas and work together to explore how to improve EFC.
• Do you have to sign up? You don’t have to do both — you can fill out the survey, and sign up to join the focus group, but only if you want to.

Signing up does not guarantee you will be selected; you will be notified whether or not you are selected.

Everyone who participates in the focus group will get $200 for your time.

This is your chance to make a real difference for other young people in foster care. The feedback we get from you will directly shape the Playbook of Best Practices, which will guide how we improve foster care for years to come. Plus, you’ll get paid for your time!

Want to stay updated or get involved in future opportunities?