This study is a policy analysis of the California Fostering Connections to Success Act (2012). The policy was intended to address the negative outcomes associated with the over 4,000 youth leaving foster care yearly in California. Findings from this analysis indicated that former foster youth were found to struggle with homelessness, unemployment, low education attainment, poverty, incarceration and dependence on government assistance to a greater extent than their peers. States that extended foster care past age 18 demonstrated benefits that were not necessarily sustained on a long term basis in comparison to states that ended care at age 18. This study concluded that while extending foster care to youth offers temporary support, common practice should involve early interventions like teaching discipline, goal setting, independence and accountability as well as fostering nurturing connections and relationships with significant individuals in the child's life. Permanent adult connections were found to play significant roles in youth's attaining self-sufficiency.