Right now, more than 343,000 children and young people are living in foster homes across the country, removed from their own families because of incidents of abuse, neglect or crisis. Many more have experienced juvenile justice or children’s mental health systems.

Youth Villages believes we all have a responsibility to help these children find permanency — to be reunited with their families or adopted — so they can grow up safe and nurtured.

Still, approximately 15,000 young people reach adulthood in child welfare systems around the country every year without family support. They are preparing to leave foster care on their own, and statistics show they face an array of negative outcomes. They are more likely to be homeless, less likely to complete their education, less likely to earn a living wage and more likely to have their own children younger.

LifeSet grew out of a conversation between Youth Villages CEO Patrick Lawler and Memphis philanthropist Clarence Day of The Day Foundation in 1998. Day wanted to reach young people who were not receiving the support they needed to be successful. Lawler identified young people who ‘aged out’ of services at age 18.

At that time, there were very few services to help them. Youth Villages launched what would become LifeSet in 1999 in Memphis with funding and continued support from The Day Foundation. Today, LifeSet is one of the nation’s first – and one of the largest – programs helping young people who reach adulthood in foster care.

Youth Villages has made an organizational commitment to young people who turn 18 in foster care, or other children’s systems, and need support to become successful adults.

That commitment involves both providing LifeSet through direct services and strategic partnerships with jurisdictions, innovative agencies, and high-performing nonprofits across the country. Our goal is to ensure every young person who turns 18 in foster care receives the support they need to become successful adults.

Yes. In a randomized controlled trial, leading research firm MDRC found LifeSet participation increases earnings, economic well-being, and employment, reduces homelessness, improves mental health, and reduces domestic and partner violence.

Since 1999, LifeSet has helped nearly 35,000 young people across the country. It is the largest program of its type in the United States. Youth Villages helped more than 7,400 young people through transition-age services in 2025.

Latest results:

• 96% of young people are satisfied with their LifeSet services.

One year after completing the program:

• 90% are living with family or independently
• 85% are in school or graduated
• 64% are employed at least part time
• 94% have no trouble with the law

LifeSet is now offered through direct Youth Villages services in Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee. The LifeSet program model is provided through partnerships with innovative agencies and high-performing nonprofits in Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and the District of Columbia. LifeSet is used as the model for extended foster care in Louisiana.

The program model is comprehensive and designed to help youth aged 17.5 to 23. The specific requirements for program participation may vary by jurisdiction. It is a voluntary program designed to serve young adults leaving foster care. It is also used to help young adults with experience in juvenile justice or children’s mental health systems – or no system involvement.

LifeSet specialists work with each young person to build skills and address a wide range of issues, meeting an average of once a week in the home or community and providing 24-hour, on-call crisis support. Trauma-informed care is provided.

LifeSet specialists have small caseloads of eight to 10 young people. They work across all systems impacting young adults, providing evidence-based and research-informed interventions.

LifeSet is individualized for each young person; the domains of focus include interpersonal connectedness, housing, mental and physical health, career and employment, life skills, and education. LifeSet is also supports pregnant and parenting young adults, as well as those who may be experiencing intimate partner violence or who have experienced sex trafficking.

LifeSet puts young adults in the driver’s seat of their lives – sometimes for the first time. Participants make decisions about what they’d like to accomplish during the service period and have a specialist by their side for support, assistance and guidance.
We’ve identified six components of LifeSet that distinguish the model.

• Engagement: LifeSet uses an intensive, individualized approach with in-person, weekly meetings in the community and 24/7 support.
• Codified model: While the interventions with each young person are individualized, adherence to a structured model has allowed LifeSet to be effective in rural and urban settings across the country.
• Best practices: LifeSet is based on science, evidence, best practices in child welfare and behavioral health, and Youth Villages’ expertise serving young adults.
• GuideTree™ – Case Conceptualization, Online Resources and Expert Guidance: LifeSet pairs the ongoing guidance and collaboration of a master’s level licensed program expert (LPE)/consultant with a robust online platform that contains hundreds of evidence-based, evidence-informed, and other best practices interventions and resources.
• Action oriented: It emphasizes experiential learning, with specialists practicing skills with the young person and modeling behavior in the real world.
• Lasting impact: LifeSet gives young people the know-how and confidence to problem-solve, build a network of support and conquer everyday challenges.

Despite increases in support over the last two decades, transitioning to adulthood from foster care or children’s systems is still challenging. Youth Villages is at the forefront of finding systemic solutions to improve outcomes.

In 2023, the National Collaborative for Transition-Age Youth was formed by American Public Human Services Association, FosterClub and Youth Villages to bring stakeholders together to work toward transforming child welfare policies, services and support with a focus on improving outcomes for young people. The National Collaborative is made up of young people with lived experience in foster care, public state and county level child welfare leaders, national advocates and partners who worked together to build a playbook – Improving Outcomes for Young Adults and the Systems that Serve Them: A Playbook of Best Practices.

Many variables determine the cost of the program, such as the jurisdiction and the scale of implementation. If you are interested in learning more, please email tay@youthvillages.org.

Expansion of LifeSet services into a jurisdiction may be eligible for a public-private partnership, which can extend government funding by leveraging private donations.

Periodically, grant opportunities are open to public agencies (or private agencies who formally direct distribution of public funds on behalf of the government agency) to cover a portion of LifeSet planning and implementation costs.

To find out more about bringing LifeSet to your jurisdiction through direct services or partnerships, please reach out to strategic.partnerships@youthvillages.org.