Advantages And Disadvantages Former Foster Youth Face During Young Adulthood

The foster care system in Texas is broken and policies like SB-4 and HB-3859 continue to fracture the system even more. The high volume of children entering into the system and the substantial number of caseloads for social workers are exacerbated by the current policies. It is our job as policymakers and policy analysts to address this issue so that ALL the children of the Lone Star state have a better future. Throughout this memo, I will highlight the current condition of the foster care

Programs like the Educational and Training Voucher (ETV) Program for foster youth, which helps pay for post-secondary education and training. The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independent Living Program (CFCIP) (another name for FCIA), implements services which included educational instruction, work, and economic support. Additional federal programs, such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid, give states the leeway to use different resources to help children move out of the foster care system (nga.org, 2007). States would encourage the independence of these youth by giving assistance in achieving a high school diploma, higher education, work-force training, skills in budgeting, drug abuse and preventive health education

The purpose of this policy was to provide funding for children aging out of foster care to provide independent living such as housing and job skills. According to Fernandes{ nilausa.org} (2006) “Around 30% of children who left foster care in 2003 were 12 years or younger when they entered care. This suggests that children who are leaving care without being formally reunified with a parent, adopted, or placed in guardianship are a growing concern of child welfare agencies and policymakers. Recently emancipated foster care youth are particularly vulnerable during the transition to adulthood. While many young people have access to financial and emotional support systems throughout their early adult years, former foster youth often lack assistance in developing independent living skills to ease the transition. Studies indicate that youth who have “aged out” of foster care fare poorly relative to their counterparts in the general population on several outcome measures: employment, education, homelessness, mental health, medical insurance coverage,

According to the National Foster Youth institute, “More than 23,000 children age out of the US foster care system every year.”() Aging out is the process of a teens transitioning from the legal control of the foster care system, to independent living. Youth aging out of foster care should be given an extension on foster care services after the age of 18, because it provides a stable home for teens, it increases the amount of college graduates and it provides healthcare for those in need.

Foster care is defined as the system in which a child under 18 years old is placed in a group home, institution, or private home through a governmental or social service agency. Foster care in the United States began in 1853 (NFPA). Charles Loring Brace began the system as a way for homeless immigrant children living on the streets of New York City to have a home (NFPA). Eventually in the early 1900’s more formal inspections and placements were made and it soon became similar to what it is today (NFPA).

Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 Before this bill was signed into law the Federal Government provided about $70 million per year to conduct programs for adolescents leaving foster care that are designed to help them establish independent living. Research and numerous reports from States conducting these programs indicate that adolescents leaving foster care do not fare well. As compared with other adolescents and young adults their age, they are more likely to quit school, to be unemployed, to be on welfare, to have mental health problems, to be parents outside marriage, to be arrested, to be homeless, and to be the victims of violence and other crimes (Cook, 1991). The need for special help for youths ages 18 to 21

For many teenagers, their 18th birthday is an exciting time in their lives. They are finally becoming a legal adult, and are free from the rules and restrictions created under their parents. But not all teens feel the same joy about this coming of age. For the hundreds of thousands of children living in foster care in the United States, this new found freedom brings anxiety and fear. Where will they live after turning 18? How will they get the medications they may need? How will they find a job with little to no experience? How will they put themselves through school? Aging out of foster care is a serious issue among America’s youth. Every year, 20,000 children will age out with nowhere to go, being expected to be able to survive on their

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, every year close to 25,000 youth age out of the foster care system and are faced with cold hard realities of adulthood. This does not include the youth who leave the system, which is estimated to be another 30,000. Most adolescents anticipate their eighteenth birthday, as it brings on a new found sense of independence and most importantly a time of celebration. However when foster children reach eighteen, they begin facing the challenges of transitioning to adulthood. These children disproportionately join the ranks of the homeless, incarcerated, and unemployed. These youth are unprepared for the independent life they are forced to take on. The average age that young adults who have never experienced foster care leave their family home for good is 24, and 40% return home again at least once afterwards (Margolin, 2008). With these facts being stated, we yet expect youth who has dealt with rejection after rejection to leave “home” of the state custody permanently and fin for themselves. These youth sometimes have fewer than $250 in cash, only one-third have drivers licenses, and fewer than one-quarter have the basic tools to set up a household, let alone the skills to know what to do with the tools (Krinsky, 2010). Youth exit care with no more than a garbage bag of their belongings, finding themselves alone at the age of eighteen, with little reason to celebrate what is supposed to be an exciting milestone

The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-169) was enacted into law in December 14, 1999. The primary purpose of the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 is to reform and expand the Independent Living program. Under this new legislation, named in honor of the late Senator John H. Chafee, the federal allotment for Title IV-E independent living programs has doubled from $70 million per year to $140 million (although currently only appropriated at $105 million). This program is authorized under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act and is designed to help children in foster care prepare to become independent once they transition out of foster care at age 18. In California, the Foster Care Independence Act funds county Independent Living

Child welfare, foster care, and adoption were authorized under the titles IV-B and the IV-E of the Social Security Act (SSA). The US Department of federal and Human Services with ginger included the child welfare services, while prompting safe and stable families programs (Children's Bureaus). Other programs were created such as foster care programs which the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program goes hand in hand with children's foster care, and even the adoption assistance program (Children's Bureaus). With these programs created many expansions on the child welfare policy. Foster care programs such as the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) to which was implemented for youth who entered the kinship guardianship and or are adopted from foster care after the determined age of 16 (Children's Bureaus), with this program it helped both adults caring for older youth foster children and also for those foster care individuals who have “aged out” of foster care. This

Everywhere across the world, more and more children are being placed into foster care or a welfare type system. Foster care can benefit children or harm them; the effects of foster care differ for every individual. These types of systems often have a major effect on young children’s physiological state. Children entering in foster care are often malnourished and have untreated health problems. A high percentage of children who are placed in these types of systems have mental health, physical health, and/or developmental issue which often originates while the individuals are still in the custody of the biological parents. Children in foster care should be provided with a healthy and nurturing environment which often provides positive long term results. The age of children in a foster care varies across the world, but it is often seen that majority of these children are young (George para. 1). There are more young children in the system because younger children require more adequate care than older children that are already in the system. Placing these children in welfare systems is supposed to be a healing process for them. Although this is supposed to be a healing process, statistics say these children have a negative experience while being in these systems, but this is not always the case. A number of children in foster care fall sucker to continuous neglect and recurrent abuse with the lack of nurturing and an unstable environment. These same children often have unmet

them back and also eliminate proper help they may need. Cost of college can also be a huge barrier or issue for foster youth. With the current rising cost of college many individuals rely on their parents or will receive financial aid or loans. A foster youth may not know these services are available or may not even have access to a computer. According to Cohn & Kelly, “Funding is also needed to provide free tuition or tuition waivers and coverage of living expenses for foster youth who cannot afford college tuition, housing, books, and any other necessary expenditures,” this can make a significant difference in the amount of foster youth who can earn a college degree.

It is past midnight when loud banging sounds wake you. Something is wrong. All of a sudden, you hear the door being kicked down as the wood splinters and the glass shatters. Before you know it, the police have rushed into your home like a swarm of bees and have taken your parents into custody. Adding to this already bleak situation, a social worker has arrived and places you and your siblings into DHS custody. Since you have no other relatives to take care of you, you and your siblings are placed into the foster care system—in separate homes—without the ones you love most to comfort you.

It is a program that connects foster care kids to other kids and adults, to educate and to inspire to become better members in society. Their goal is to make sure everyone who goes through the Foster care system has the tools and support to thrive. According to the Foster Club “In 2014, 22,392 youth emancipate* — or "age-out"— from the foster care system when they reached age 18 or finished high school. (Some states have extended care through the ages of 20 or 21.) Youth in foster care often do not get the help they need with high school completion, employment, accessing health care, continued educational opportunities, housing, and transitional living arrangements. Studies of youth who have left foster care have shown they are more likely than those in the general population to not finish high school, be unemployed, and be dependent on public assistance. Many find themselves in prison, homeless, or parents at an early age.” (Jim Casey youth Opportunities

The key stakeholders are foster care youths, families / independent living facilitate, and Social Workers (Case Workers). The economic impact of addressing this issue is reducing the number of conditions for foster care youth who have aged out. Various people are impacted by this policy are different from the population of interest, such as those non-foster care youth who health care coverage has also been extended. A legal factor is that the state of Texas has chosen not to expand Medicaid to youth. Foster care youth face more severe health needs as a result of trauma, malnutrition, and abuse and neglect which they may have experienced. These factors, along contribute to mental, physical, and behavior issues they may struggle with throughout