Recognizing the “SOUL Family” Approach to Permanency
The Imprint is highlighting each of the policy recommendations made this year by the participants of the Foster Youth Internship Program, a group of eight former foster youth who have completed congressional internships.
The annual program is overseen by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that raises awareness about the needs of children without families. Each of the participants crafted a policy recommendation during their time in Washington, D.C.
Today we highlight the recommendation from Shyeonna Robinson, a graduate of Purdue University.
The Proposal
Robinson proposes that Congress recognize the Support, Opportunity, Unity, and Legal Relationships (SOUL) Family as a viable permanency option that states can fund using their allotment of the federal Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. SOUL Family is a concept developed by former foster youth that enables transition-age youth to identify different adults who will play a meaningful role in their lives as they enter adulthood; Kansas recently became the first state to officially incorporate SOUL Family into its official options for permanency.
The Argument
Federal law requires that foster youth over the age of 14 are to be consulted about permanency plans, but Robinson writes that “some states are behind the curve in implementing this integral process central to youth self-actualization.” The recently developed SOUL Family approach gives teens in the system a lot of discretion to identify the adults they want to be part of permanency.
In Their Own Words
“Although the goal of foster care is often reunification with the biological family, this first kin placement failed, and I had strong concerns about reunifying with my biological mother. Reunification would have meant uprooting me from my high school community where I had found refuge, developed strong and meaningful relationships, and established a sense of self and independence.”
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