LYGHT Research
At the core of the Listening and Led by Youth in Foster Care: Grief, Hope, and Transitions (L.Y.G.H.T.) program, we aim to raise awareness about how youth in foster care who are grieving experience marginalization on various levels, to create ways to provide trauma-informed peer support to youth in foster care, and to promote the importance of moving the child welfare community toward a grief-informed holistic model of care.
2024 L.Y.G.H.T. Annual Report
Find out how Dougy Center is working to support youth in foster care, and the important and life-changing impact of the L.Y.G.H.T. program.
2023 Research Findings
From September 2021 to June 2023, 78 youth in foster care across South Carolina participated in a second randomized control trial (RCT) of the L.Y.G.H.T. program, with the program being accessed more than 500 times! Youth who engaged in the program reported that social support, hopefulness, and self-worth INCREASED. Results indicate even greater effects after six months with a positive large effect for hopefulness, social support, and self-worth.
2021 Research Findings
In the first randomized control trial (RCT), youth who participated in the L.Y.G.H.T. program reported increased social support, hopefulness, and self-worth compared to youth who did not participate in the L.Y.G.H.T. program.
L.Y.G.H.T. is Evidence Based
The L.Y.G.H.T. program is the first and only evidence-based grief and loss peer-support intervention for youth in foster care. It has been tested and translated into a grief-informed, trauma-informed practical model, and is now available to child welfare and community-based organizations in South Carolina.