Aging Out of the Foster Care System

The purpose of this source is to show how in California they have received costs to allow people up to the age of twenty-one to stay in the foster care system. Extending the age to twenty-one can be in any state, but they are not required to do so. The researchers got thoughts from others presented in three different groups: “(1)transition-age youth, (2) child welfare workers, and (3) government program data.” (Napolitano et al., 2015) From all these groups they have come to the conclusion that caseworkers almost half of the time do not have the same children for over one year. Thirty percent of children have been on a caseworkers case for over two years. This wide range is due to the age of the children. The younger children were then asked a question about staying in the system. Two-thirds of the children showed they wanted to stay in the foster care system after they reached the age of eighteen. This information is presented that foster care at times does not develop PTSD. Foster care is a place that allows children to be safe and the children have very good attitudes toward staying. Caseworkers then spoke and said the reason some children may want to stay in the care is because of the housing situation. Though the caseworker's main goal is to make sure the

An estimated 9.2 million to 15.8 million children are considered "at-risk" in this country encompassing all ages from 13 to 19 years old. These youth are at-risk because they are at a crossroad: one leads to successful transition to adulthood, the other to dependency and negative long-term consequences. Youth typically considered or identified as at-risk are more likely to become pregnant, use drugs and/or alcohol, drop out of school, be unemployed, engage in violence and face an increased likelihood of a host of mental health problems, which in turn places them at high risk for entering the juvenile and criminal justice system.

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,

Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people "age out" of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services (. Several studies show that without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, this older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of adverse situations. Compared to other youth in the United States, kids who age out of foster care are more likely to not have completed high school or received a GED, they often suffer from mental health problems, many are unemployed and live in poverty, and nearly 40% become homeless.

Each year 542,000 children nationwide live temporarily with foster parents, while their own parents struggle to overcome an addiction to alcohol, drugs, illness, financial hardship or other difficulties (Mennen, Brensilver, & Trickett, 2010.) The maltreatment they experienced at home, the shock of being separated from their birth parents, and the uncertainty they face as they enter the foster care system leave many children feeling abandoned or lost. Children have many needs, but while in foster care these needs are not always met. A supportive family environment is created for those children whose parents are not able to take the

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

One of the most pressing issues facing foster youth in America is employment following emancipation. Former foster youth face many challenges in becoming self-sufficient adults due to the lack of a support system that a traditional family would provide for their children. There is an insufficient safety net for a particularly vulnerable group and the statistics reflect poor care for this demographic. By age 24, roughly half of all former foster youth are unemployed; those who are employed earn a median income of $7,500 annually. In their first four years following their aging out of foster care, more than half will be homeless or in a shelter at some point; up to 70% will be “reliant on government assistance.”

Each year in the United States, 24000 youth who were under the state care ago out of the system and get discharged because they have reached the legal age (pathway). The literature review indicated that 12 to 36 percent of this population will be homeless at some point after being discharged from the foster home. Among this population of the subgroup, permanency becomes issues. This study will look at the youth who aged out of the foster-care system and the likeliness of became homeless due to housing outcome, using the case study of aged out foster youth housing experience. The study will explore the causal relationship and other links that may contribute to housing instability and homelessness among young people who exit foster care once they reach the legal age (18-year-old). Some definitions have been created in trying to explain the outcome of housing instability.

Although the unique circumstances facing youth aging out of foster care have been discussed by researchers, policy makers, and clinicians for over 30 years, the more than 400,000 youth in US foster care are still not being adequately prepared for the challenges of adult living.1 In addition to educational deficiencies, employment challenges, and a lack of family support, the American Academy of Pediatrics has declared that one area of particular concern among former foster youth is their health.2 Studies have repeatedly found serious health challenges within this population, including increased likelihood of chronic health conditions, behavioral/mental health disorders,2 acute health problems,3 and unmet medical needs.4 Fortunately, steps have been taken to provide greater availability of health resources to these individuals. In addition to state-run Independent Living Programs that prepare foster youth for the challenges of adult

Unfortunately, this is the cold, sad reality of many children and teens who have been thrown into the system like a piece of meat for the wolves to devour. I have decided to write about the issues of foster care and the abuse children and teens face while moving through this broken system. Over the past years, I have developed a passion to intercede on behalf of our youth. I want to help them navigate through a life filled with turmoil and discord. I chose this topic because I want to make a difference in the lives of these mistreated, misunderstood, and misguided children and teens. One might ask, “How can we fix such a system with these particular problems?” Although I may not have the “right” answer to that question, I do believe there is a way to repair the massive leak that has caused a system meant to serve and protect our youth to

Fullerton, Ann., Geenen, Sarah., Powers, Laurie., and Quest, A. Del. 2012. "Voices of Youth in

Leaving children to grow up in the foster care system is not a good placement option as there is a substantial amount of research about the negative impact it has on children. Some recent findings of a study reported that 25 percent of youth who aged out of care did not obtain high school diploma or GED, only 50 percent were currently employed, and three quarters of the males and more than half of the females had ever been arrested (Courtney et al. 2007). Another study examining youth in California, Minnesota, and North Carolina found these employment patterns persist for many at age 24, with only a small portion of youth (25 percent in California, 22 percent in Minnesota, 16 percent in North Carolina) managing to maintain consistent connections to the labor market and earn as much as their peers nationally (Macomber et al. 2008).

Background and Purpose: Each year over 20,000 youth are emancipated from the U.S. foster care system because they did not achieve legal permanency—that is, exiting foster care through a state-sanctioned outcome of adoption or guardianship. The transition to adulthood for emancipated foster youth is characterized by bleak outcomes across key well-being indicators. While we continue to build knowledge about emancipated youth, little is known about how adolescents who exited foster care through adoption or guardianship fare as young adults. The attainment of legal permanence presumes that young people who exit state custody through adoption or guardianship at a minimum, fare better than their emancipated counterparts, by virtue of attaining legal permanence. This paper begins to address this important gap in our knowledge by comparing how young adults who exited foster care through legal permanence (e.g., adoption, guardianship) or emancipation fare during young adulthood.

The essential outcomes of child welfare are child safety, permanency, and well-being for all children and youth. Youth living in foster care face a challenge of stability and permanency placement; however adolescents transitioning out of foster care are confronted with an additional hurdle of adulthood. Little research has looked into the impact of continuing services across placements to improve the child’s well-being. Extending foster care services is necessary to support youth during the transition of adulthood. Caregivers within the child welfare system are in a position to possibly reduce the impact of traumatic stressors and help strengthen the youth and caregiver relationship in out-of-home care. Providing appropriate medical care for children and youth in foster care is a requisite not an option regardless of gender identity. This literature review will cover a summary of effects of permanency and stability, parental tools for caregivers in the child welfare system, support for emerging adults in foster care, and health care rights.

“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life”(Plato). Plato’s assessment was accurate, because the importance of learning enables individuals to put their potentials to optimal use. The foster care system can handicap the educational achievement of children. This handicap can follow those children beyond the scholastic world and into the professional world. Today, seventy percent of teens that break away from foster care report that they want to attend college, but less than fifty percent graduate from high school. Fewer than twenty percent of those who graduate from high school actually enroll in college, and of those less than three-percent graduate with a degree. Post emancipation, fifty percent are