Gifted and Talented Program

Product Abstract

Student: Sidney Carlson Date: May 28, 2020

Research Title: An Independent Journey: The Barriers Foster Youth Face Come Emancipation

Purpose: To promote educational, emotional, and financial resources to transitional age youth in the
county, so that they are prepared for the responsibility of independent living.

Expected Product or Outcome: A website that brings awareness to multiple outreach programs
provided by Maryland law and non-profit organizations.

Novelty: Each year, around twenty thousand young adults age out of foster care without achieving
permanency. Compared to the general population, foster youth are in poorer mental and physical
health, are less likely to obtain educational credentials, struggle to maintain a stable living situation,
and engage in at-risk behaviors. Young adults, some being teens, leave the supervision of their state’s
child welfare agency without strong social scaffolding. While helpful resources exist, they are not all
easily accessible in one clear source.

Audience: Youth aging out of foster care that are unaware of the various aid provided by Maryland
law and non-profit organizations.

Process:
1. Amass information from scientific journals on adverse childhood experiences and their
effects on neurological and somatic development.
2. Secure Advisor: Diana Fishbein, Director of Translational Neuro-Prevention Research in the
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at University of North Carolina.
3. Narrow topic to focus on the framework of the child welfare system and the difficulties
surrounding foster youth’s transition into adulthood, specifically those in out-of-home care.
4. Conduct interviews with advisor Diana Fishmen and Maryland’s Foster Care Ombudsman
Loney Nguyen and assemble high level sources.
5. Develop a research paper concentrating on three main obstacles: the youths’ social and
emotional well-being, educational preparedness, and access to meaningful resources.
6. Create a website that highlights the problems transitional age youth face and brings attention
to the different support systems in Maryland.
7. Distribute to the audience through River Hill High School’s Pupil Personnel Worker.

Teacher Signature __________________ Student Signature 2022