The Glasgow Southside MSP accepted that the legislation to achieve the goal did not have “everything that everyone wants”.
But she encouraged people to back the current proposals and legislate later for more change.
The former first minister chaired a fringe event at the SNP conference in Aberdeen on the subject. It will be her last one as an MSP.
She said at the event: “This is an ongoing discussion, an ongoing challenge, an ongoing promise.
“For me, the first minister who made it, it’s unthinkable that we don’t deliver the Promise.”
Read more:
Ms Sturgeon said it was more than just legislation though, adding that culture and attitudes had to change “to put young people at the heart” of society.
She said: “We are making progress but we absolutely cannot be complacent.
“In order to meet the Promise by the end of this decade, we have to pick up the pace.”
Ryan McShane, a member of The Oversight Board who has personal experience of the care system, was also on the panel. He criticised the Promise Bill – called the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill.
He told the audience in Aberdeen: “The so-called Promise Bill isn’t a Promise Bill. Its scope is too narrow.”
He added: “The Bill has got stuff in it that can change people’s lives but there’s not enough in it.”
He urged the Scottish Government to delay the Bill to increase the number of measures to help young people in care.
Ethan Mulhall, a member of Who Cares? Scotland, who has also been in the care system, said there was a “risk” of the Bill being “rushed”.
He told the audience the Bill was the start of delivering the Promise and added that it was “slightly worrying” that came five years after the Promise was made.
Ms Sturgeon defended the legislation, telling the fringe: “This Bill doesn’t have everything that everybody wants to see. Everyone can see that and I would readily acknowledge that but it does have some really good stuff.”
She said MSPs should pass the current Bill and then legislate for more changes after the May elections.
Read more:
It comes just days after a report found Scottish Government and councils “did not give sufficient thought to the work that would be needed” to deliver the Promise.
Nicola Sturgeon launched the project in 2020 in the hopes of improving the lives and outcomes of young people who had been in care.
But a report from the auditor general and the Accounts Commission has suggested there was not enough planning done in the early stages of the pledge, laying out what needed to be done and how much it would cost to meet its 10-year timescale and criticised a lack of a framework to measure progress until late last year.
“Delivery of the Promise requires a partnership approach across a wide range of bodies spanning national and local government,” the report said.
“Initial planning for the Promise by the Scottish Government and Cosla did not give sufficient thought to the work that would be needed to deliver its aims over a 10-year period, including the resources required, and how success would be defined and measured.
“This has meant that public bodies across Scotland were not given a strong foundation to deliver on the care review ambitions, and work since then has been slow.
“Further development of plans and a monitoring framework are due at the end of 2025.
“These must provide a catalyst for greater pace and momentum.”
A joint statement from the bodies involved in keeping the Promise – including the Scottish Government and local authorities body Cosla – said they were taking the report “seriously” and “remain fully committed” to the Promise.
