Human to human: understanding voluntary system engagement among foster care alumni

Youth who age out of foster care have long and sometimes difficult histories of mandated system contact–and abundant need for support at the transition to adulthood. The current study aims to understand how foster care alumni and alumni-serving providers navigate voluntary system engagement at this pivotal transition. We applied grounded theory to analyze qualitative interview data from young adult foster care alumni aged 18–23 (N = 16) and service providers who work with them (N = 18). Against the familiar backdrop of system-defined engagement mandates and metrics, alumni and alumni-serving providers advance a different joint vision of voluntary young adult engagement. This “human to human” form of engagement is defined by respect for young adults’ boundaries, service provider responsiveness and availability, personality and personal relationship, and fun. Our findings enrich research on post-emancipation system engagement by highlighting how emerging adults and non-clinical service providers deploy flexibility and fun to move beyond mandated, role-based forms of interaction into sincerely voluntary engagement. Efforts to engage foster care alumni in voluntary services should aim to align institutional-level priorities with the interpersonal “mandates” of respect, responsiveness, personality, and play.