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Unique service needs exist for expectant or parenting youth with foster care histories (EPY) and their families. Informed by Critical Ecological Systems Theory (CEST), this exploratory qualitative study presents findings from an inductive content analysis of in‐depth interviews and focus groups with EPY and service providers. The study included nine in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews with service providers (n = 5) and EPY (n = 4) as well as five focus groups with service providers (n = 23) and three with EPY (n = 7) to identify the characteristics of service providers, agencies and systems that may act as barriers to service utilization among EPY with a foster care history (n = 10) or juvenile justice history (n = 1). Service provider characteristics included negative attitudes towards EPY and/or those with child welfare experiences. Agency characteristics included a lack of workforce diversity, employee turnover, lack of training about diverse communities, restrictive enrolment processes and eligibility requirements, lack of childcare and transportation and limited accessibility of services. System characteristics included a lack of up‐to‐date information about existing services, territorialism, funding sources that do not prioritize interagency collaboration and a lack of communication/coordination among agencies. Implications include hiring and retaining a diverse workforce, providing training about diverse communities and implicit biases concerning young parents, developing navigation services specifically for EPY and developing processes for sharing data and communicating across systems that interact with EPY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expectant or parenting youth (EPY) with foster care histories are often in need of a range of services yet experience barriers to accessing and utilizing those services. This exploratory qualitative study was informed by ecological systems theory and utilized interviews and focus groups with EPY (n = 11) and service providers (n = 28) to identify factors that facilitate service utilization for EPY. We found characteristics at the service provider, agency, and system levels that act as facilitators. Service provider characteristics that facilitate service use include empathy and trustworthiness, supportive navigation, and youth-centeredness. Agency facilitators included representative diversity and inclusivity, trauma-informed training and practice, and availability of tangible supports. System facilitators included having a variety of service providers, systems integration, and co-location. Findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the facilitators that contribute to EPY's service utilization. Future research is warranted to examine how these youth- and provider-identified drivers of service use influence health, mental health, parenting, education, relationships, employment, and housing outcomes for EPY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]