Designed to better understand the needs of unstably housed transition age youth, ages 18 to 25, navigating the housing and foster care systems in Los Angeles County, this report presents findings from a longitudinal data collection effort that followed this group by conducting monthly interviews for up to one year to gain information about their interactions with the foster care system, experiences becoming stably housed, and related supports.

Navigating the Housing and Foster Care Systems in Los Angeles County

A Longitudinal Case Study of 24 Transition Age Youth

Sarah B. Hunter, Emma Bianculli, Michelle Bongard, Rick Garvey, Jason M. Ward

ResearchPublished Feb 10, 2025

Homelessness continues to be one of the most pressing policy issues in Los Angeles County, California. Although substantial investments have been made to address it over the past several years, the number of people experiencing homelessness is still large. It is important to address transition age youth, ages 18 to 25, who are experiencing homelessness because resolving homelessness at an early age may prevent chronic homelessness and the consequences of living unsheltered, such as increased morbidity and earlier mortality. This report is the second publication from a project designed to better understand the needs of unstably housed transition age youth navigating both the housing and foster care systems in Los Angeles County. The authors present the findings from a longitudinal data collection effort among transition age youth with foster care involvement who were experiencing housing instability in 2023. The authors followed this group by conducting monthly interviews for up to one year to gain information about their experiences and perspectives regarding their interactions with the foster care system, becoming stably housed, and related supports. This is the first study of its kind to systematically track a group of unstably housed foster care–involved transition age youth in Los Angeles County. This report should interest those who are serving transition age youth experiencing housing instability and involved with the foster care system, including government, social service, and health care organizations, as well as educators, employers, practitioners, advocacy groups, researchers, and others interested in addressing the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles County.

Key Findings

By the conclusion of the study, there was significant improvement in the immediate housing stability of the cohort

  • Most youth participants had secured shelter, with only one individual who remained unsheltered. This represents a significant improvement in immediate housing stability for the cohort.
  • One-half of the sample obtained their own long-term accommodations by the end of the study period.
  • Many long-term accommodation placements came with the following limitations: Such housing was specifically designated for youth ages 18–24, and there were time limits to their stays (up to two years).
  • These restrictions suggest that a considerable portion of the youth may face another housing crisis in the near future when they age out of their current accommodations or reach the time limits of their housing.

Despite progress, significant housing insecurity for this cohort persists

  • One-third of the participants still resided in temporary accommodations, which put them at risk for future homelessness.
  • Unstably housed TAY required assistance to secure long-term housing, which indicates a need for continued supportive services.
  • On average, participants moved 15 times over the course of the study, demonstrating the lack of residential permanency of this group.
  • Relative to being unsheltered, being sheltered or stably housed was associated with reduced depressive symptoms, reduced days of binge drinking, hallucinogen and illegal substance use, and increases in having identification and documentation. Stable housing was associated with improved quality of life and reduced health care, public assistance, and probation service use.

Recommendations

  • Policy should continue to provide and improve case management and wraparound services—including housing navigation, connections to health care, work and school or job training engagement strategies—to TAY with foster care involvement. In this study, TAY who found long-term housing were connected to the housing resource through support from various service providers to the homeless across Los Angeles County.
  • Many TAY with foster care involvement have children; therefore, policy should recognize that appropriate supports include parental supports and family housing options.
  • Most unstably housed TAY with foster care involvement reported having a serious mental health disorder, which suggests that policy should provide for ongoing mental health supports with housing options.
  • Policy should provide support to TAY with foster care involvement beyond age 24. Many of these youth need additional support beyond this age.
  • Policy should incentivize housing developers through a combination of financial incentives and regulatory relief to create more low-cost housing in transit-friendly urban cores with integrated supportive services to serve this population and other low-income populations.
  • Policy should increase supports for families in extreme poverty. Housing stability is linked to increased risk of child neglect and abuse. Moreover, as of 2024, the number of people transitioning into homelessness exceeds the number of people transitioning out of homelessness. Therefore, preventing involvement in the foster care system altogether may be one of the best ways to address homelessness among this population.

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RAND Style Manual

Hunter, Sarah B., Emma Bianculli, Michelle Bongard, Rick Garvey, and Jason M. Ward, Navigating the Housing and Foster Care Systems in Los Angeles County: A Longitudinal Case Study of 24 Transition Age Youth, RAND Corporation, RR-A3310-2, 2025. As of April 30, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3310-2.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Hunter, Sarah B., Emma Bianculli, Michelle Bongard, Rick Garvey, and Jason M. Ward, Navigating the Housing and Foster Care Systems in Los Angeles County: A Longitudinal Case Study of 24 Transition Age Youth. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3310-2.html.
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This research was sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and conducted in the Community Health and Environmental Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being.

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