By Benjamin Rosas
Every child needs a loving family to support and care for them. This belief is what drove Randi Thompson and Terri Baugh to find Kidsave in 1999. According to the National Council for Adoption (NCFA), approximately 20,000 teens age out of foster care in the United States each year. The older a child gets, the less likely they are to be adopted. It is a race against time to find the right forever family for older kids in foster care.
The unfortunate reality is that when a family is looking to adopt a child, only 3% of these families have considered a teenager as their first choice. Teenagers who age out of foster care face a lifelong disadvantage compared to kids with a stable support system and are more likely to experience negative life outcomes.
Unemployment
Teens in foster care often are not able to work part-time jobs in high school. They aren’t able to participate in extracurricular activities or be part of a team. When they age out of foster care with no prior job experience or training, their options are limited. For those who do find a job, they are often paid considerably below the poverty line. Some states like California are helping the cause by implementing programs like the CARE act whose sole purpose is to address the needs of those aging out of foster care. However, not every state is implementing these acts. With no real stable way of affording housing or any of life's essentials, the likelihood of these teens becoming homeless is substantially greater than others.
Homelessness
Arguably the most pressing challenge young people aging out of foster care face is homelessness. Many do not have the financial resources to own or rent stable housing. Per the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, 11-36% of young people aging out of foster care become homeless during the transition to adulthood. This is substantially higher than the 4% of young adults not involved in child welfare who have reported being homeless.
The link between homelessness and the foster care system is a lot closer than most people think. With no guidance on how to handle the real world, teens who age out of foster care are ill-prepared to survive on their own. They often leave foster care with a lack of education, trauma from past abuse, and no support system to rely on.
Incarceration
When teens age out of foster care, they are met with numerous challenges, often with no support or guidance. According to House of Providence, an organization dedicated to helping children out of foster care, 25% of teens who age out will end up incarcerated within two years. It is a common misconception that children in foster care are emotionally unstable or troublemakers. However, these behaviors are often the result of systemic neglect. Their emotional struggles stem from a lack of love, stability, and guidance from a caregiver or family—not from being “bad” kids. They’ve simply never been taught how to navigate life’s challenges in a healthy way. Because of this lack of support and guidance, teens who age out of foster care may find themselves struggling to earn money and engage in criminal behavior to get by. Or, desperate for a sense of community and belonging, they find themselves involved with groups or gangs.
How You Can Help
Having a loving family or support system is one of the best ways to help prevent these negative outcomes for children in foster care. That’s why at Kidsave, we specifically work to connect older kids and teens in foster care with adults to serve as their mentors, support systems, and even adoptive families. By simply being there and showing a teen you care, you can help change the course of their life. Whether through a financial donation, volunteering your time, or even adoption, your involvement can be life-changing – for both of you! Our children are our future. We cannot allow them to grow up thinking that they have forgotten or been dismissed from society. Remember, you are never too old to need the love and support of your family.
Kidsave Weekend Miracles
Kidsave is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that finds hosts and families for older kids in foster care through our Weekend Miracles program. This program is a fun and innovative way to connect caring adults with older kids and teens in foster care who need support. Learn more about Weekend Miracles or email us at weekendmiracles@kidsave.org today.
