 |
The Riverside Project PodcastAuthor: The Riverside Project
Welcome to the Riverside Project podcast! We are mobilizing Houston to empower families and transform generations. We hope these conversations give you a greater understanding of the issues facing our community and inspire you to find your place along the River. Learn more about our work by visiting riversideproject.org or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. Language: en Genres: Business, Non-Profit, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Extending Care for Vulnerable Youth (feat. Alina White, DFPS)
Monday, 1 December, 2025
When people think of foster care, it’s typically assumed that it ends at age 18 when a child ages out of care. However, that is not the case in most states. Nearly every state offers federally funded programs to extend foster care beyond 18 years.This is what is known as extended foster care, and it includes programs like continued care with foster parents and independent living situations. Our guest for this episode is deeply familiar with these programs as she oversees them for Texas.Alina White is the State Office Extended Foster Care and Supervised Independent Living (SIL) Program Lead at the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Since joining the department in 2012, she has served in multiple roles supporting youth and young adults transitioning out of foster care. Alina is passionate about improving services and programs that help young people successfully navigate adulthood.In this episode, Alina shares the importance of youth being informed about extended foster care options, ways we can support those in extended foster care even if we aren’t foster parents ourselves, common misconceptions about individuals who are involved in extended foster care, and much more.Find the show notes and links to anything we discussed here: https://riversideproject.org/podcast/alina-white-44
