Foster Kids Face Tough Times After Age 18
Report:
by Pam Fessler
April 7, 2010
Listen to the Story
Morning Edition
[7 min 47 sec]Add to Playlist
Download
Transcript
Audio Slideshow: Reflections On Aging Out
Credit: Melissa Lyttle for NPR
text sizeAAAApril 7, 2010
It's hard turning 18 — moving out, finding a job, going to college. But many foster children have to do it by themselves, without the lifeline to parents and home that helps many teens ease into independence.
A major report out Wednesday says that many former foster kids have a tough time out on their own. When they age out of the system, they're more likely than their peers to end up in jail, homeless or pregnant. They're also less likely to have a job or go to college.
Life can be a struggle for these young people, even with help from the government and nonprofit agencies.
An Abrupt Cutoff
Aging Out Of Foster Care
Read The StudyTake Josh Mendoza, a shy young man from Tampa, Fla., with soulful eyes and a hint of dark hair along his upper lip. He lived in 14 different group homes after he was removed from his mother's care more than two years ago because she used drugs.
But now he's just turned 18, and like 30,000 other foster teens this year, he's suddenly out on his own.
"This is my apartment," Mendoza says as he opens the door to a ground floor unit at an apartment complex in Tampa. The living room is empty except for a navy blue futon and a small TV. The white walls are bare. He has only been here for two weeks. There's food in the cupboard, but not a lot: some spaghetti, Cream of Wheat and cereal.
Living on your own is a little weird, says Mendoza. It's kind of lonely and a challenge, he says. His only cooking experience in foster care was heating soup in the microwave. He looks at a frying pan on top of his new stove. The bottom is covered with congealed fat.
"Yesterday, I was trying to cook, but I don't think it turned out too good," Mendoza says. "With the burgers, it kind of got burnt."
But unlike many foster care teens, Mendoza has been getting some help.
Nick Reschke is Mendoza's transition specialist, a kind of big brother/parent provided to foster youth in the Tampa area. He helped Mendoza find his apartment, sign the lease and move in.
"The day he turned 18, we went to pick up his check, went grocery shopping, went over a list of what he needs, what his budgets are," says Reschke, who also helped Mendoza pick up some donated furniture and supplies. "And then after that, Josh and I, we pretty much just cleaned the apartment up, wiped down the counters, wiped down the cabinets and set up his house. And that was his first night."
Aging-Out Stats
For eight years, researchers have followed about 600 young adults who aged out of the child welfare systems in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The report finds that at age 23 and 24, former foster youth are more likely than their peers to be:
Unemployed — Less than half were employed.
Homeless — Almost 25 percent had been homeless since exiting foster care.
Pregnant — More than 75 percent of young women had been pregnant since leaving foster care.
Convicted of a crime — Nearly 60 percent of young men had been convicted of a crime, and more than 80 percent had been arrested.
Uneducated — Only 6 percent had a 2- or 4-year degree.
It was also Mendoza's 18th birthday.
"We have an abrupt cutoff, like most states," says Diane Zambito, who runs Connected by 25, a Tampa nonprofit that is trying to smooth the transition for former foster care youth. "We go from 'you're in foster care, where you may handle $10 a month' to 'you're responsible for everything.' "
Zambito says things have come a long way since 10 years ago, when some foster kids here turned 18, put their belongings in a plastic bag and were taken to the nearest homeless shelter because they had nowhere else to go. But she says it's still not enough.
"We need to offer something for these young people other than, 'Here's Option A: Fall off the cliff,' " she says.
Clinging To The Edge
The new study — from Chapin Hall, a policy research center at the University of Chicago — finds that those who age out of foster care are not exactly falling off a cliff, but they are desperately clinging to the edge.
Mark Courtney is with Partners for Our Children, a policy center at the University of Washington. Over the past eight years, Courtney and colleagues from Chapin Hall have been following the progress of more than 600 former foster kids.
"Many of them are faring poorly," says Courtney. "Less than half were employed at 23, 24. They're much less likely to have finished high school, less likely to be enrolled in college or have a college degree."
In fact, by age 24, only 6 percent have two- or four-year degrees. More than two-thirds of the young women have children. Nearly 60 percent of the males have been convicted of a crime. Almost a quarter were homeless at some point after leaving foster care.
"Those children are our children, the children of society, of the state," says Courtney. "I would argue that we have no business taking them into care and then keeping them until they're in the transition to adulthood, unless we're going to try to do a good job of that."
They're trying in Tampa.
Raising An Adult
Two weeks after his 18th birthday, Josh Mendoza meets his advisers at a GED program for those aging out of care.
"All right, so Josh, you know we do this once a month," says Sarah Hart, the program coordinator. "You've been in the hot seat before, so let's start by getting an update on your progress."
Hart is concerned because the first day Mendoza was on his own, in his new apartment, he didn't come to school.
"Why is that, Josh?" she asks.
Mendoza sheepishly explains that his alarm clock didn't go off and he missed his bus. He says he had no other way to get there. Hart responds as a parent might.
"My question is, did you call Mr. Mark or Miss Colette to let them know you weren't going to be here that day?" she asks.
"No," says Josh.
"OK. You know, those things are going to happen," Hart responds. "You've just turned 18, and you're getting adjusted to coming from a new place. I mean, I get all that. If that happens again, though, you have to call your teachers and let them know. That's part of being responsible."
Mendoza knows he can't afford to screw up. His $1,256 monthly stipend from the state is contingent on him staying in school.
"If I lose my check, I'm going to the street," he says. "And then I wouldn't know what to do, or who to ask, or who to turn to."
A Resilient Group
Researchers say former foster kids who have someone to rely on do better than those who don't. But right now, only a handful of states provide foster care beyond 18. While several other states are planning to do so in response to a new federal law, state budget problems could put a crimp in those plans. In Florida, there's even talk about cutting the stipend for former foster kids in half.
Enlarge Melissa Lyttle for NPRKatrena Wingo, who spent most of her life in foster care, kisses her son.
Melissa Lyttle for NPRKatrena Wingo, who spent most of her life in foster care, kisses her son.
But Courtney says this is also a resilient group. By age 24, about half of those surveyed in his new study appear to be doing OK. Their lives have begun to stabilize.
Katrena Wingo of Tampa considers herself one of those people. At 24, she has a job and a place for her and her 3-year-old son, Ajai, to live. It's a tiny duplex, but with a yard big enough for her to play with him when she comes home from work.
But it's been a long haul getting here. Wingo entered foster care as an infant and stayed until her 18th birthday. After she aged out, she was OK for a while, but then she got pregnant. She stopped working and spent months moving from one friend's sofa to another.
"And at the time I wasn't going to school," she says. "So it was hard."
Eventually, with the help of friends, some family members and the nonprofit Connected by 25, she began to turn her life around. Wingo says perhaps the biggest eye opener was having a child of her own.
"It's just like, OK, you have another life in here that you brought into this world. And now everything that you do, everything that you own, everything that you spend, is not only yours or for you, it's for your child now. So he's your No. 1 priority," she says.
Wingo still depends on food stamps — and on her landlord to cut her some slack when the rent is due. But she's back in school trying to earn her degree. She hopes someday to become a counselor for troubled youth.
And Josh Mendoza? He says that if he gets his college degree, his goal is to run group homes.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125594259
NATIONAL FOSTER CARE COALITION
THE POWER OF A DIVERSE, ENGAGED CONSTITUENCY
The National Foster Care Coalition (NFCC) is a broadly based national, nonpartisan partnership of individuals, organizations, foundations, and associations dedicated to improving the lives of the more than half a million children currently in the foster care system and the millions more who have been, or will be, involved in the foster care system. The power of NFCC's constituency is unmatched. Its member organizations represent current and former foster youth, birth, foster and adoptive parents, and child welfare professionals at the local, state and federal levels. As a result, NFCC's ability to represent the individuals touched by foster care, working within the foster care system, and who care about children in foster care is unparalleled.
Established in 1998, NFCC's mission is to build and sustain political and public will to improve the foster care system and the lives of the children and youth in its care. Unlike other child welfare organizations, NFCC focuses exclusively on foster care, and its engagement on other issues impacting children, youth and families is through the lens of this issue.
NFCC believes that youth involvement is an integral component of all child welfare efforts. The Coalition and its members champion the involvement of youth at all levels of the foster care system, from supporting their participation in their own case planning to incorporating their voices and experiences in larger systems reform initiatives.
Under the Coalition's umbrella, NFCC members engage in a diverse array of activities, including advocating on behalf of children, youth, and families involved with the foster care system; supporting local, regional and national foster care initiatives; offering training and technical assistance to parents and professionals; and providing education and information about the foster care system to decision-makers at the local, state, and federal levels.
THE VISION OF THE NATIONAL FOSTER CARE COALITION
NFCC envisions a nation in which:
- All children and youth have safe, stable homes, and the skills, confidence, purpose, and enduring relationships needed to succeed;
- All families have the strengths, supports, and resiliency to master life's challenges;
- All communities recognize and fulfill their duties to facilitate the development of strong families and healthy communities; and
- All policymakers demonstrate a commitment to the well-being of children, youth, and families, and embrace this as part of a national agenda.
NFCC SIGNATURE INITIATIVES
Current NFCC programs and activities include:
- National Foster Care Month: NFCC is a founding partner and has a lead role in this annual public awareness effort to increase knowledge and understanding of the foster care system and the children and youth in its care among the general public and target audiences.
- Emerging Youth Leaders: This project focuses on working extensively with young people who are currently, or who have been, in foster care to strengthen their voices in, and ensure their place at the table regarding, decisions about the policies and practices that affect them.
- Voices for Reform: A campaign to engage key stakeholders in educating federal policymakers about the urgent need for child welfare financing reform as part of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Kids Are Waiting Campaign.
- Training and Technical Assistance: Drawing on the expertise and extensive reach of both its membership organizations and its leadership, NFCC is a vital resource for local, state and federal policymakers and practitioners working to identify and promote best practices and policies that impact the child welfare field. NFCC has the capacity to assist states and localities in implementing the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. By engaging the voices of its diverse membership, including youth organizations, foster parents, and others, in the implementation process, NFCC can help ensure that this critically important new legislation will have the greatest positive impact on the children and youth it is intended to benefit.
- Publications: Building on the success of our Frequently Asked Questions series, NFCC recently published "The Chafee Education and Training Voucher Program: Six States' Experiences" and is working on a follow-up publication to support practitioners and policymakers in their efforts to help youth successfully transition from foster care to adulthood.
- Information Clearinghouse: NFCC acts as a critical source of information on child welfare policy and programs to practitioners, policymakers and the media.
http://www.nationalfostercare.org/
