The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s (the Foundation) Foster Youth Initiative (the Initiative) strives to ensure that transition-age foster youth ages 14 to 26 in Los Angeles County (LA), New York City (NYC), and Atlanta “lead healthy, meaningful, and choice-filled lives.”

Since 2012, the Foundation has invested in a network of grantee partners who have implemented innovative programs and policy changes related to education and employment, strengthened systems, and improved the sharing of knowledge and coordination of data within the field. In 2021, the Initiative began its five-year strategic initiative, Strategy25, which expanded previous investments to include grantees working in the areas of safe and stable housing and high-quality mental health services. Strategy25 also committed to support foster youth by addressing the needs of caregivers and supporting national field-building. Four under-supported populations are identified in Strategy25 for which the Initiative seeks to advance equitable outcomes: youth of color, youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation, expectant and parenting youth, and LGBTQ+ youth.

This report summarizes progress made in 2021 and 2022 toward the Initiative’s Strategy25 five-year goals in LA and NYC. In 2022, the Initiative expanded its work to Atlanta to support its national field-building efforts; progress in this jurisdiction will be included in Child Trends’ subsequent annual evaluation reports.