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Significant numbers of adolescents in foster placement plan to live independently following discharge. Mentoring is increasingly being used as a support service to assist older foster youths to make the transition to adult living. A survey of 29 child welfare programs indicate that a variety of mentoring models are in use. The main models are transitional Life Skills Mentors, Cultural-Empowerment Mentors, and Corporate-Business Mentors. Mentoring connects foster wards with a cross-section of community citizens who provide a bridge to higher education and employment, and serve as a resource for transitional problem-solving. Information is needed on the impacts of mentor-mentee matches and efforts to sustain mentor-mentee relationships.Mentoring is increasingly being used as an intervention for youth considered to be at-risk, vulnerable, or likely to be unprepared for effective adult living. Youths identified as headed for problematic and/or unfavorable life outcomes include delinquents, homeless and jobless youth, pregnant and parenting teens, and school dropouts. The adolescent risk groups cited are not mutually exclusive. Much overlapping exists across subgroups. Within the past few years the child welfare field has recognized that adolescents in placement rep-

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Objective: To investigate the relationship between measures of placement restrictiveness and educational achievement for a sample of emancipated foster youth. Method: Information was collected on 171 foster adolescents in Illinois. The permanency plan for each ward was independent living. Three methods were used to calculate the cumulative restrictiveness levels of various living arrangements while in placement. Follow-up information on educational progress was collected at age 21. Results: Two thirds of the youths in less restrictive placements attended postsecondary education, compared to one third who were placed in highly restrictive settings. Overall, nearly 85% of the enrollees in postsecondary education or training programs came from placements rated as low in restrictiveness. Conclusions: Placements rated as low in restrictiveness such as foster family homes and transitional apartments are probably the most effective settings in which to prepare foster wards for independence. Overall, the most useful method for calculating restrictiveness was the Predominant Placement Type formula.

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