For most American youth, the transition to adulthood is gradual and aided by support from parents and others. In contrast, foster youth are expected to arrive at self-sufficiency abruptly and without the same level of support. Such expectations may be due in part to what the author has found in his research: that many of the studies conducted thus far have been fragmented and incomplete, often focusing on a particular state or agency that may follow policies not applicable nationwide. This book reviews these disparate studies to provide child welfare practitioners, policy makers, and students with a broader picture of the state of American youth following discharge from foster care. It examines child welfare policies and related policies in areas such as housing and education, and draws lessons from successful programs to provide readers with the tools needed to develop foster and after-care systems that more closely mirror the support afforded to youth in the general population.