Pros And Cons Of Aging Out

In America it is stated that 1 in every 84 children live in foster care circumstances via "Statistics on Foster Care". There is a numerous amount of contrasting children from various backgrounds and ages living within these special housing homes, and many are repeatedly in and out from unstable circumstances. As children grow and mature into the new faces of the world, they face many obstacles and tribulations that will alter their lives. Living in fostering homes is a substantial example and the effects of living in these institutions can truly be great.

In the article Richards discusses and focuses children that age out of foster care are at a greater risk of being homeless. It also centered on the stories that were told by former foster care adolescences Emily and Michael acquired different situations. Michael did not actually age out of foster care therefore he was not able to reap benefits. Emily was able to utilize the benefits like the extended deadline of fosters care until she was 19 years old. She was able to obtain a scholarship and prosper in college.

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

when they are on their own (Mech, 1994). These are some of the problems faced by 20,000 foster children who age-out of care each year. History In the early 1980's, older adolescents in foster care and young adults who had been discharged from foster care become a source of great

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.”

In todays’ society many Americans never think about our foster care system. Foster care is when a child is temporarily placed with another family. This child may have been abused, neglected, or may be a child who is dependent and can survive on their own but needs a place to stay. Normally the child parents are sick, alcohol or drug abusers, or may even be homeless themselves. We have forgotten about the thousands of children who are without families and living in foster homes. Many do not even know how foster care came about. A few of the earliest documentation of foster care can be found in the Old Testament. The Christian church put children into homes with widowers and then paid them using collection from the church

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.

Of these individuals who exited, 22, 392, or 9%, exited due to emancipation, more informally identified as “aging out” (AFCARS Report, 2015). In 2013, only 48.3% of individuals who were previously in foster care obtained employment in New York State when interviewed at age 26, while same-aged peers towered over employment statistics in comparison, with 79.9% being currently employed. The average annual earnings of the 48.3% were only $13,989, as compared to $32,312 of same-aged peers. Additionally, 45.1% reported being experiencing economic hardships, as compared to 18.4% of same-aged peers (Children’s Aid Society, 2013). According to Columbia Law School (2016), 800 individuals between ages 18 and 21 aged out of foster youth just miles away from half of our target population, Nassau County, Long Island in New York City. Of these 800 individuals, 231 individuals had to utilize homeless shelters for their basic needs of food and shelter. Additionally, nationwide one out of five individuals who aged out of foster care at age 18 became homeless (Jim Casey Youth,

60 percent of kids who age out of foster care are dead, homeless, or in jail within a year. There needs to be more focus on the foster care system and child homelessness. Children should not be living on the streets, they need a home and a loving family so that they can grow up and live a stable, independent life.

By providing a secure and stable home for teens , it teaches them responsibility and further equips them with stability in overall life decreasing homelessness rates. Extending foster care services supplies former foster children with stable homes if they are in need. According to Foster Focus Magazine, “65% of youth leaving foster care need immediate housing upon discharge”() Housing after foster care is an immediate issue that comes with aging out. Over 50% of desperate former foster youth are searching for a home to begin their life independently. Statistics show that, “many foster youth are placed in homes with complete strangers that sometimes are just as dysfunctional, if not more, than the homes they were removed from.”() Unfortunately there are children in foster care that often get bounced from home to home never really knowing when they are safely sheltered. Some children find it better to live on the menacing streets of state's, where they are homeless, than to be in a home

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.

Imagine growing up without a family, moving constantly and never having a permanent home. Envision being taken away from an abusive parent and left to survive in foster care for an undefined period of time. Think about lingering within the system for years and suddenly loosing any kind of aid at the age of eighteen. This is a reality for thousands of children in America’s foster care system. There are kids that are searching for a home and family -- and many of them never get one. These youths are all hoping and wishing for a permanent place to go back to. The number of children aging out of the foster care system annually is a serious problem because many children leave foster care without support and suffer consequences in their adult life that could have been avoided if they had been adopted.

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

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

Recently I read an article in the San Diego Union Tribune entitled "Setting Up Foster Kids for Success" by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein. The article focused on helping foster kids succeed. The article points to statistics that show around half of foster kids who stay in the system until they age out wind up in dire straights - homeless, in prison, or victimized in some way. Some even wind up dead.