Adopting Strategic Foresight to Ensure Youth in Extended Foster Care are Future Ready by 2035
In 2024, the Youth Law Center partnered with the Institute for the Future (IFTF) and California Youth Connection (CYC) to launch a bold new initiative: using strategic foresight to reimagine the transition from foster care to adulthood for the next generation.
This collaboration produced On the Threshold of Change – a groundbreaking report and companion short film that envision how systems must evolve to meet the needs of young people transitioning out of foster care by 2035. Rather than reacting to today’s challenges alone, this project anticipates future shifts in technology, climate, labor, and social dynamics that will affect youth for decades to come.
This isn’t a typical policy report. It’s about preparing youth not just for today, but for the world they’re stepping into tomorrow. Currently, our systems have left youth entirely unprepared for the era that we’re currently living in and even more unprepared for the rapid changes in the next decade.