Youth Transitions

Historic help for youth from care will support strong transitions to adulthood

Young people in government care will have access to new and increased supports until the age of 27.

Budget 2023 investments will better support them as they transition to adulthood. Read more.

Learn more about the youth transitions supports and services in this infographic.

Improved supports for Youth Transitions

Effective April 3, 2023, improvements and changes to Agreements with Young Adults, Temporary Housing and Support Agreements, and dental/optical supports for young adults are live! You can find more information about these changes below.

Housing Supports

For information on the Rent Supplements Program or to lean more about recent changes to Temporary Housing and Support Agreements visit: MCFD Housing Supports.

Please check this web page regularly for updates and the application.

Agreements with Young Adults program 

If you’ve been in foster care or had a Youth Agreement, you may qualify for the Agreements with a Young Adult (AYA) program. Learn more about the AYA program. 

Update: the maximum duration of an AYA agreement has been expanded to 84 months!

Dental/Optical Limit Increase

MCFD has increased dental coverage by $300 to $1000 annually and expanded optical benefits to cover eye exams for young adults participating in MCFD’s post-majority programming.

 

No Limit Earnings Exemption 

Effective immediately, a young adult’s income from employment, including self-employment opportunities and wage replacement programs, such as EI and WCB, will be exempt when determining the level of funding they will receive through AYA.

Earnings Exemptions FAQs

 

Upcoming Supports and Services

Still to come in 2023:

  • Enhanced funding to support young people to access life-skills and skills training programs, cultural connection and learning opportunities
  • Addition of counselling to extended health benefits
  • Additional transition workers to help youth and young adults navigate their transition from care successfully

In 2024:

  • MCFD will seek legislative changes to expand program eligibility
  • Introduction of an unconditional monthly income supplement of $1,250 up to age 20
    • The monthly income supplement of up to $1,250 until the young adult's 27th birthday will be maintained for those participating in eligible programming  

Learn more about upcoming youth transitions supports and services in this infographic.

AgedOut 

AgedOut.com is for youth and young adults who were in government care in BC. It's an up-to-date warehouse of information on resources and services available to young adults and a learning tool to help people feel empowered as they leave care.

Help us find names for the new Youth Transitions program and its workers

Recently, the Ministry engaged B.C.'s youth and young adults to help find names for the new Youth Transitions program and transition support workers. The engagements led by the Ministry's Youth Advisory Council members, with support from MCFD staff have ended. We are now working on selecting a new name. Thanks for your interest.

Need help with this information? Connect with a worker, friend, or family member.