Smoothing the transition to adulthood: Creating ongoing supportive relationships among foster youth

•The CORE model revealed better relationship competency among youth than others.•CORE was linked to improvements in relationship-building skills.•CORE youth were more likely to find a lasting supportive relationship.•CORE had a wider range of supportive adult relationships than others.

This paper assesses the utility and effectiveness of a foster care model designed to improve youth transitions to adulthood. The model engages the youth's social network, helps youth to develop supportive, ongoing relationships with adults, and is heavily focused on youth empowerment. A three-year evaluation of 88 foster youth revealed that youth exposed to the model felt they had more power over their lives, had a wider variety of supportive adults in their lives, and could better regulate their emotions than those in a comparison group.