Persuasive Essay On Aging Out

In the John Burton Policy Brief on AB 12 the realities of education for foster youth are highlighted, “The rate at which foster youth complete high school (50 percent) is significantly lower than the rate at which their peers complete high school (70 percent),” (2011, p. 2). This affects chances for higher education including college degrees. This has a significant impact on the community as “aged-out” youth without services have more chance of risk for: homelessness, poverty, unemployment, going to jail, prostitution, substance abuse, early parenthood and untreated health conditions. Samuels and Pryce state that foster care has not always been a positive, developmentally appropriate experience. Youth who are

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

As family structure changes children pay the biggest price. They may lose the luxury of a stable home or school to call their own, when parent are no longer in the picture either. This is an issue that is largely ignored by society and most importantly the government. Without the foster system, children would be left abandoned and forgotten by all. The foster system provides thousands of homes for foster children each year, with parents that can give them what they need. But, foster care in America is inadequate for all American foster children and needs to be improved. Improvements are critical in bettering American foster systems, these improvements include, creating programs, finding more stable homes, and starting mentoring programs

Approximately 26,000 youth age-out of foster care at 18 each year. They lack a parental safety net and face significant challenges in meeting their needs for health care, education, housing, employment and emotional support. One attempt to mitigate their challenges focuses on raising the end age of foster care and continuing to provide support services. Even most any young adults rely on some parental assistance until 26, the U.S. average age of sustainable independence.

One of the most common problems is homelessness. One in five children will become homeless after ageing out of the system (“Aging Out”, 2005). Of the children who are not permanently homeless, 14-30% will experience at least one night of homelessness after the first 3 years. (Richards, 2014) These children are more likely to be mobile because of their unwillingness and unavailable skills and resources to settle. (Stott, 2012) They basically are still in the mindset of the foster care system by going place to place and constantly changing their surroundings. A Midwest study of 600 aged out children stated that after they left the foster care system, these children have been to at least five different locations of living. (Curry & Abrams,

About 25% of former foster youth experience homelessness within four years of emancipation. (The Current State of Foster Care, 2017)

Most of the time when children get put into the foster care system their attitudes change and it may seem like they become a whole different person. Through extensive research proof has been found that this occurs and has found ways to help a child transition back into how they were before foster care, but for those that were born into foster care they may find it normal and not revolt because it is all they have ever known. Many kids will end up dropping out of high school after turning sixteen. Some will not drop out but “for those who choose to stay enrolled, the path is not a traditional one, some foster children complete high school after five years or choose [an] alternative like a GED transcription or diploma.” (Ideastream, 2017). There

These youths also tend to continue their drug use after leaving foster care. The drug use of youths in foster care can affect their chances of continuing their education or finding employment, often with serious consequences, many youths involved in substance abuse do experience homelessness (Sparkaction.org, 1999). Lastly teen pregnancy among youth in foster care is much higher than the general population, fosterclub.com reports that 71% of teenage girls will become pregnant before the age of 21. In conclusion, all the issues these children face can ultimately increase the likelihood that they will end up on the wrong side of the criminal justice system. A survey conducted in California found that of the 2,564 inmates surveyed, 356 of the respondents’ 14 percent of the inmates said they had been in foster care at some point in their lives (policy matters,

Abrams, Laura, and Susanna Curry. "Housing and Social Support for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: State of the Research Literature and Directions for Future Inquiry. ." EBSCO Academic Search. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal Apr2015, Vol. 32 Issue 2, P143-153. 11p. ., Apr. 2015. Web. 20 June 2016. This article is very informative. The author writes about housing and support for youth who have aged out of foster care. Meaning when a child turns eighteen they are just put out on their own. The author works in the social work field and has firsthand experience in the area. The author wants to focus more on the topic of building programs for these youth. The audience would be anyone who has an interest in the foster system. This source

As a result , many teens don’t feel like it’s a possibility reuniting with their families. Fosters homes, foster homes take care of youth when no other adult is around anymore. A sad fact is most youth in foster homes are only taken care of till a certain age than become discharged leaving them limited housing options and low income abilities. A majority of youth in foster care become homeless at a young age and stay homeless for a long period of time.

Extended Foster Care in California: Youth and Casework perspectives introduces the topic first by explaining how foster care has become a greater responsibility. Further as you read, it explains the overviews of the youth and casework examples. They get these examples from: transition age youth, child welfare workers, and the government program date. The Baseline Youth Survey was to get a broader understanding of the older children in California who have been under child welfare agencies. The author has then another topic to explain the motivations to keep children in foster care and the

The benefits of pets for seniors is well established. Spending time with a pet has been shown to lower stress, lower blood pressure, and increasing mental acuity. Dogs are the primary companions related to these benefits, but other pets are successful as well.

Have you ever helped someone out and have just felt great about yourself? When you help someone out; you feel so satisfied. There are many ways people can help one another out. First, helping the elders is one of the best things someone could do. Along with that, someone could also gain enjoyment by helping out the homeless. Furthermore, everyone at some point needed help at school, so help one of your peers out. Serving the older people, the less fortunate, and students, are the best ways to do something for another person.

2 days 15 hours 3 minutes and 4 seconds left to live. When the miniature timer in my wrist hit 0, it will mean that my 18 years of life will end. The law was created in the United States over a hundred years ago. Centuries after the fifth world war had ended. Due to the overpopulation of people, the government declared that at the age of 18, you will no longer be able to live. When you are born, officials will take you away into a lab to implant a miniature bomb that would completely shut down your body after your time is up. It is supposed to be a peaceful way to die. But no matter how peaceful it was, it is beyond cruel.

As Children we all wanted to grow up and be adults and do adult things; but we never knew the consequences of actually getting older. We used to want to drive,make money,have jobs and hangout with friends. Once we got to be of the age to do all these things all the wishes of wanting to be older faded. We will be talking about the pros and cons of being an adult versus being a child.