This post was originally published on Defender Network
By Aswad Walker
The foster care system has its own litany of issues and challenges regarding the level of care provided to children in the system. And though good, loving foster parents have been a godsend for many youth, for many others the adults in the system (parents, system administrators, etc.) have facilitated nightmarish experiences.
One foster care issue that deserves more attention is life after foster care once a youth has aged out.
In Texas and nationwide, state and federal laws are supposed to protect foster youth until they turn 21, thanks to the 2008 Fostering Connections Act. This extended support was enacted as a response to the horror stories of 18-year-old youth who had some level of homelife at 17, but when their next birthday came, for many, so too did homelessness, hunger, sexual exploitation, and incarceration.
The push to extend foster care beyond the age of 18 is designed to support teenagers “aging out” of the system who have no adults or family to rely on, providing them with financial assistance, housing, and casework support.
Assistance Issues
However, that assistance has not always been offered or received.
An investigation by The Imprint, a news organization focused on youth and family matters, revealed that for “aged out” youth in Texas roadblocks to this assistance – roadblocks viewed as unnecessary – create a situation where older foster youth can’t access much-needed housing and basic needs items/services.
This means that the Lone Star State, which has one of largest child welfare systems (CWS) in the country (roughly 28,000 children in 2021), has way fewer foster care young adults (18-21) than New York, Ohio, Florida or Illinois – states with CWS’s closest in size to the one in Texas.
“Very uninviting” is how University of Chicago researcher Mark Courtney, whose main area of focus has been tracking the well-being of older foster youth, described Texas’s extended foster care.
“It appears the state is either offering very little that youth see as useful to them [or] making it very difficult to stay in [extended foster care],” said McCourtney to The Imprint.
Challenges with Aging Out
This reality often places these youth in literal life-and-death situations, as studies have shown that the chances “aged out” youth experience homelessness, lower educational attainment, and/or more involvement with the criminal justice system increase exponentially without the support they are by law supposed to receive. These youth have a far greater likelihood of experiencing one or some combination of those fates than other youth/youth adults their age.
Human Trafficking
Foster care and human trafficking intersect, as evidence has shown that foster youth are more susceptible to human trafficking. Vulnerable populations endure obstacles that correlate to susceptibility to human trafficking (i.e., homelessness, unemployment, difficulty obtaining postsecondary education, and financial instability). Furthermore, foster youth who have previously experienced trauma throughout their lives, whether within the foster system or prior to entering care, often find themselves more vulnerable to trafficking. Additionally, the absence of support for those exploring their identity as LGBTQ+ increases vulnerability to human trafficking. It is worth asking what systems are failing foster youth and how aging out of foster care correlates to human trafficking.
Resources for Those Who Have Aged Out of Foster Care
Here are some agencies to contact that can provide various services for youth who have aged out of foster care; resources that can reduce the chances of negative outcomes and increase opportunities for moving forward with a healthy life.
Texas Foster Care Youth Project
This source offers a long list of resources broken down by subject matter pertinent to youth who are close to or who already have aged out of foster care.
DPS Services for Youth and Young Adults
This website offers info on transitional living options, Aging Out webinars, transition plans, the Texas Foster Care Handbook and more.
This organization provides resources for living, education, employment and more so aged out youth can find their way to success.
(Source: www.kidsmatterinc.org)