17 year-olds NYTD Survey (October 2025 - March 2026)

Hello from the NYTD team! We're glad you've decided to share your voice with us. Your voice can help us make real changes to improve programs and processes to help our youth!

What types of questions are on the survey? The survey asks questions about your experiences with education, employment, housing, access to health care, and social support.

What about my privacy? You will be asked to give your name but no reports or discussions about this survey will use your name or connect your name to your answers.

How long will it take? It should take about 15-20 minutes to complete the survey.

How will you use the information? The feedback you provide will be used to improve services and supports for all youth in foster care.

Do I have to take the survey? Taking the survey is voluntary and choosing not to answer any of the questions will not cause you to lose any services. If there is any question that you feel uncomfortable answering, you don’t have to answer it. You can just check or write “declined” for that question.

Thank you in advance for your participation!
Please make sure that you continue all the way to the end!

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* 1. What is your full name (first name, last name)?

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* 2. What is your date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)?

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* 3. Currently, are you employed full-time? (i.e. do you work 35 hours or more per week at one or multiple jobs)

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* 4. Currently, are you employed part-time? (i.e. do you work 1 to 34 hours per week at one or multiple jobs)

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* 5. In the past year did you complete an apprenticeship, internship, or other on-the-job training, either paid or unpaid?
(In other words, have you had a job paid or unpaid to help you learn a skill or trade, for example, carpentry, auto mechanics or word processing that you learned from an experienced person.)

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* 6. Currently, are you receiving Social Security payments (Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or dependents' payments)?

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* 7. Currently, are you using a scholarship, grant, stipend, student loan, voucher, or other type of educational financial aid to cover any educational expenses?
(This educational aid could be used for any expenses related to gaining an education. "Student loan" means a government-guaranteed, low-interest loan for students in post-secondary education.)

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* 8. Currently, are you receiving any periodic and/or significant financial resources or support from another source not previously indicated and excluding paid employment?
(For example, are you regularly receiving money from one or more of the following: a spouse/partner, a family member [biological, foster, or adoptive], child support, or legal settlements?)

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* 9. What is the highest educational degree or certification you have received? Choose the highest certification from the list. They are listed in order from the lowest degree to the highest degree. If you have not yet earned one of the degrees , then select "None of the Above".

Note: "Vocational Certificate" means a document stating that a person has received education or training that qualifies him or her for a particular job, e.g. auto mechanics or cosmetology. "Vocational License" means a document that indicates the State or local government recognizes an individual as a qualified professional in a particular trade or business. An Associate’s degree is generally a two-year degree from a community college.

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* 10. Currently, are you enrolled in and attending high school or GED classes, post-high school vocational training or college?
(This could include other adult education programs and alternative schools. Note: You are considered enrolled in and attending school even if you are out for spring break, summer break, etc.)

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* 11. Currently, is there at least one adult in your life, other than your caseworker, to whom you can go for advice or emotional support? (excludes spouses, partners, boyfriends or girlfriends, and current case managers)

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* 12. Have you ever been homeless? (This could include living in a car, “couch surfing”, which means staying overnight at the home of different friends or family members, living on the street, or staying in a homeless or other temporary shelter.)

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* 13. Have you ever referred yourself, or has someone else referred you for an alcohol or drug abuse assessment or counseling?

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* 14. Have you ever been confined in a jail, prison, correctional facility, or juvenile or community detention facility, in connection with allegedly committing a crime?

Note: "Allegedly" means that you were accused of a crime, even if you were never convicted.

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* 15. Have you ever given birth to or fathered any children that were born? Males, if you do not know, answer "NO"

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* 16. If you responded YES to the previous question, were you married to the child's other parent at the time each child was born?

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* 17. Currently, are you on Medicaid (State medical assistance program)?

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* 18. Currently, do you have health insurance, other than Medicaid?
(This could include health insurance provided by a parent, through an employer, or a plan that you pay for yourself.)

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* 19. Does your other health insurance include coverage for medical services? (e.g. cost for doctor's appointments, emergency room visits, or surgery)

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* 20. Does your other health insurance include coverage for mental health services? (e.g. psychiatrist visits, counseling or therapy)

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* 21. Does your other health insurance include coverage for prescription drugs?

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* 22. Currently, are you receiving ongoing welfare payments from the government to support your basic needs?

Note: This includes ongoing welfare payments. Do not include payments for specific purposes such as unemployment insurance, childcare subsidies, education assistance, food stamps or housing assistance.

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* 23. Currently, are you receiving public food assistance?

Note: This includes Food Stamps and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Programs.

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* 24. Currently, are you receiving any sort of housing assistance from the government, such as living in public housing or receiving a housing voucher?

Note: This includes housing provided by the government and housing vouchers to pay for part of the housing cost. This does not include payments from a Child Welfare Agency for room and board payments.

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* 25. Thank you so much for participating in this survey. We appreciate and value your feedback and all of the information you shared with us. We would like to mail your thank you gift and a transition kit as a way to say "THANK YOU" for your participation in the study.

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* 26. Please select top 4 gift card options and 1 will be mailed to the above address.

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* 27. Please also provide a secondary point of contact information (mailing address, etc.).

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* 28. I would like to be added to the NYTD Listserv, where I can receive regular updates and opportunities for foster youth and NYTD cohorts.

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