Aging Out of Foster Care is a Disaster for Children
March 1, 2008
Children in the foster care system have typically already survived significant trauma or abuse, but as they grow older and approach aging out of the system, they face even more difficult odds. Children who reach 18 and adulthood in the foster care system without being adopted or having any family or mentor of their own have staggeringly high rates of imprisonment, homelessness, alcohol and substance abuse, and a myriad of other problems.
Children in the foster care system, or with a history of abuse and neglect, are at higher risk of being trapped in the Cradle to Prison Pipeline, the path by which the chances of an individual one day ending up in prison can be predicted based on factors present in his or her childhood, which make that child much more likely to end up incarcerated as an adult. Poverty is the largest driving force of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline crisis, as defined by the Children’s Defense Fund.
In Texas, among all children, 1 in 4 (24.9 percent or 1,548,069) was poor. A baby is born poor every five minutes in the state:
o A Black baby is born poor every 32 minutes.
o A Latino baby is born poor every seven minutes.
o A White, non-Latino baby is born poor every 33 minutes.
o An American Indian/Alaska Native baby is born poor every 20 hours.
o An Asian baby is born poor every nine hours.
Other factors that significantly impact the odds of a child entering the Cradle to Prison Pipeline include lack of early childhood education, poor education received later, disadvantaged health care, experienced violence, and simply being a person of color. Children in the foster care system often experience one or more of these factors, as well as losing their birth home and parents, and dealing with the trauma of abuse or neglect. These children are desperately in need of a family to call their own. They are in danger of falling through the cracks and being lost forever without one.
Recently, Dr. Tracy Eilers, a friend of mine and director of The Heart Gallery, sent me the following information about a boy, Jarod, who is about to age out of the foster care system and has almost given up hope on a family to call his own. The prospects for kids who age out of the system are grim.
Dr. Eilers says, “18 isn’t a good thing for kids in foster care.” Sent out on their own with no one to care for them or teach them how to be an adult in the world, half of these kids end up homeless. “Week after week, we film segments for Forever Families… week after week, I meet the most amazing kids… and every second of every day I hope beyond all hope that we can make a difference in these kids lives… I don’t know if I have ever hoped so much as for Jarod.”
Last year at this time, Jarod was showing off his Junior ROTC uniform for his Forever Families segment. He was 15-years-old and only recently decided he wanted to be adopted. Jarod’s goal was to become a Sergeant, but he moved from foster home to foster home this year, and isn’t in ROTC anymore. The rest of year has been filled with just as many disappointments, and now his outlook on life is bleak. No 16-year-old should feel this hopeless.
Jarod came in to foster care when he was 10-years-old from his uncle’s house, where there were five kids, Jarod and his sister, and their three cousins. Jarod was the one who had to go into foster care.
He’s had a very hard time trusting adults, and who could blame him? Now he’s 16-years-old and repeating the 9th grade. In two years, he’ll age out of the foster care system. Foster teens on their own are at a higher risk of homelessness and substance abuse. “To me, it seems like it’s too late. For life, I guess. When I turn 18, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.
Jarod’s anger, frustration, and confusion have caused him to give up on adoption. His aunt was going to adopt him, but it wasn’t a good fit. They lived together for a month, but kept getting into fights. Now Jarod is in a shelter, where he says things aren’t going well.
“I got in trouble because I broke a door. I feel mad all the time. It’s not foster care; it’s not being adopted. It’s just when I turn 18, what am I going to do? Am I going to be on the streets? I don’t know what I’m going to do. I barely got an education. Ain’t nothing to do,” he said.
Jarod is out of hope. He feels he’s out of time and he has no idea what to do about it. Ask about his future, and he shuts down. Though Jarod
seems to have given up on himself, he still has another year.
Watch the News8Austin video clip of Jarod’s story.
Many children like Jarod have new hope through the innovative initiative, The Heart Gallery. This program combines professional portraits by renowned documentary and portrait photographers of children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted with art show-style exhibits around the country.
Dr. Eilers, of the Adoption Coalition of Texas, led the formation of the Heart Gallery of Central Texas several years ago. The goal of The Heart Gallery of Central Texas is to elicit support for and interest in the lives of these children - and ultimately find each child and sibling group a “forever family.”
At any given moment, there are 500 children waiting for adoption in the Central Texas foster care system, all removed from their natural family due to abuse or neglect. The Heart Gallery process helps break down common misconceptions regarding adoption and promotes the idea that if you can provide a safe and loving home for a child, even if you are a single individual or do not own a home, you can still adopt.
“It’s extraordinary to know that in just the two years of the Heart Gallery program, over 60% of the children featured in portraits were adopted,” said Dr. Eilers. “This remarkable rate of success proves this effort has been effective in raising awareness for the kids and the Central Texas foster care system overall. Every year after the debut, we receive thousands of phone calls and emails from all over the country and we want that to keep happening.”
“Seeing these children in photographs as they laugh and play is a very powerful experience. We want to inspire people to learn more about adopting from the foster care system. Our whole purpose is to humanize these children, display their personalities, and give a glimpse into their souls,” explained Eilers.
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18 Responses to “Aging Out of Foster Care is a Disaster for Children”
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I am interested in establishing a independant living community in Pembrook Township to service kankakee, will and Iroquis County. I need more information and I am running into barriers with the Kankakee County rules for placing modular homes.
I agid out of foster care, and i am going throw hell i have 3 children one thay took from me in foster care. I am looking for help in finding him. he is going to be 11 years old and i need to know how he is. I am 27 now i spent 10 years in foster care i went throw hell in foster care i would love to tell my story to some one how will lisson i cant spell good but i know that some one will help me call me at 857-869-3308 please i would love to let people know what realy happins to us to yong girls and boy’s out there .
We would like to open our home to a youth aging out of foster care.
Thank you.
Jo Ann Duncan
Jo Ann,
I am emailing you personally.
Rocky
I have often thought of opening my home to a young person aging out of foster care. I still have one small son at home, so it would have to be a person who would be safe to be around my son.
i wish there were more programs to help people like me who age out of the system and have nowhere to go, i am now 23, and always on the verge of being homeless, i am a single mom now, and just to keep a roof over our heads i am a live in nanny for a lady that wont even pay me because she realizes i have nowhere to go.
[...] Moms making an impact [...]
I aged out when I was seventeen, since I have had to struggle with the basics in life. I am now thirty and have a family and own our home. I am finishing college to become an accountant. I have had to deal with mental and emotional problems since I aged out. I feel like it is my responsibilty to do something for someone aging out. Even if it is helping them find a place to live or a job. I know the biggest thing I needed was someone to be my advocate, to have my back. So many people take advantage of kids who have no one. I NEED to help.
I would love to hear your stories if you aged out of the system and/or if you thought about helping these kids delayed that decision and why.
I believe the more stories we can sent to congress can make better chances of kids that do need to go into care get the services they really need. Risemeup.org is just a temporary band aid if it’s successful but not an answer.
I am talking about my life, I would like to write a book about my life in foster care, I don’t know how to go about it or if any one would like to here about it, I think I will need some help, well my phone # is 857-869-3308 my email is alvertisfernandez@yahoo.com, so if you would like to here a little and fined out wut it wus like for me and all the other kids I hung out with, please get back to me, I need to get this for my chest and on to some one it mite help, wile helping me.
I am doing a research paper on aging out of foster care? Do you happen to have the statistics for 2008 on approximately how many children aged out of foster care and needed continued fostering? PMC and TMC
If you do not have any statistics, could you maybe direct me to a source that may?
Thanks, Julia Wynn
I am not a mom but a Dad my wife and i have adopted 3 boys 2 of which were 15 and 14 now 16 and 18 we have 6 sons all together we love these adopted boys as our oun they bring so much joy. i wanted to save them from ageing out and have no one. they will always have usif u have a heart adopt a teen they need u. We now want to help a teen ageing out that has no one maby give them a home help with work car food and they still need a mom and dad it doesnt matter the age. We want to try this dont know if it will work but will go into it with a possitive heart others should think about it. thanks for listening and foster kids and grouphome kids there r people who love u very much u just have to fond them. email me i love the stories
dadt6@yahoo.com
After reading an article in the dallas morning news a few years ago (like 5) I have been aware of the problem of youth aging out. I feel called to help, and I can’t get the stories and images of these kids out of my mind. I am a 6′7 280 lb guy that bursts into tears as i think about the situations that these kids are in, simply because they are getting older. Each and every one of these kids deserves a chance to succeed. Each one deserves our best efforts. It takes a village to raise a child. Simple skills like balancing a check book, getting on line, paying bills, healthy shopping and cooking, how to iron a shirt…..not to mention the love that has beed with held and the abuses (emotional mental physical…..and substance) that they have had to endure. We must help these kids. I can’t imagine a more horrible plight in this contry than to be abused, unloved and left to fend for yourself alone with little to no skill sets, and less money. What can I do?? Where do I start??
I am founding a non profit for youth that have fallen threw the cracks our at risk youth this organization will provide housing, advanced education, life skills training and resources to its long term residents that will age out of the system (as well as abondoned & runaways) and I am seeking passionate people that would like to help in building this foundation from almost the ground floor. I am seeking assistance from all skill levels all you have to do is have the desire to help. Board positions have not been occupied so their is a great opportunity for growth with a great cause. Our organizations institutions will change the outcomes of youth emancipating from the system nationwide. email me at godsmeenie@yahoo.com thank you soo much for your time.
I think what is happen to these young adults is really wrong i have meet a lot of mothers that have aged out of foster care with childen and have no clue how thay are going to make it i am a child care provider and meet a lot of young mothers that have been throw ageing out some call it throw away i have been trying to come up with a program that would help young adults ageing out this is something that is a must they need help no one i talk to seem to now how i can help if there’s anyone who know’s how i can get started please let me know i have a home that i would like to use for young aldult ageing out of foster care
truth.. im 12 years old and im still in the foster care sytem.. its been 11 hard months without my mom were can kids like me get the support to get out?? ive been looking for an outlet for a long time it was doggs cats animals reall, but then life as i knew it keep getting worse with every month that past i was spirling down out of control and no one was stoping me i was going to weed,coke hairwen i was stuck and i was doing it right under all 7 of my foster homes noses right their in their home and they never noteced me i thoght them were supposted to be monetering but insted the kids they have are just a pay chek.. thank you alot julianna burgess
I have been looking for information and planning to try and develop a organization to help kids timed out of the system. I would have been further with this, but my husband has been laid off since November. I thought it best to settle our situation first, but have reconsidered. I am sure that these children, young adults have encountered more than this and just need someone anyone to care enough to show them they matter. One thing I don’t want is something that will cause them or the people willing to help to deal with the bureaucracy that failed them. I want to start a chain of host families willing to take in these kids into there homes and familes and see them through to college. I do think that trying get a tax credit for this will help people to consider this and legislation passed for it would be a plus. I live in Michigan, and decided to push froward with this as a positive way to spend our time instead of focusing on his lay off! God will provide and always has for us. So any comments to our help in how to start me off on this venture would be great. Oh, I should mention we were foster parents but due to the very flawed system here we closed our license but still have a passion to help these kids!
Thanks for any comments
Lisa
Hi julianna this is luis never give up
Don’t do drugs love yourself call a tv
Station or radio station try to get them to tell
Your story that u want your mother back
Nothing is impossible live large believe in
Miracles. I 40 years old I never had kids
Went to college 2 years got two year degree
But never got good job because personal
Problems I had learning disabilites but
Managed to get associate degree 3 years
Ago I had nothing I always lived with my parents
Spent all my money trying to make people
Like me I went to jail 1 year in 2001
But 2 and half years ago started saving
I now have two jobs and 20,000 dallors
Jobs are hard to find now and with record
It’s harder but I have two jobs nothing
Is impossible u have to get your story out
To public