Running Head: ON THEIR OWN

On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System Book Review Katherine E. Kutzli Michigan State University

ON THEIR OWN

Abstract Around 25,000 youth are aging out of foster care each year without the support and life experience that many other 18 year olds have (Shirk & Stangler, 2004). For a number of reasons, youth are removed from their families and placed in a standard foster care system where many are pushed through with limited direction, a lack of resources, and unstable relationships. Shirk and Stangler (2004) share the stories of ten young men and women who have the potential to become educated, self-sustaining adults, but who are confronted with a multitude of social, economic, and psychological obstacles emanating from the disorderly foster care system. These young people typify the need for action. It is essential to provide youth aging out of foster care with the tools and abilities to thrive on their own.

ON THEIR OWN

On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System Summary This group of individuals consists of six males and four females from ethnically diverse backgrounds and heterogeneous upbringings. They come from different areas of the United States, from Kansas, Brooklyn, and Des Moines, to Boston, San Francisco, and San Antonio. With ten different sets of circumstances and ten different outcomes, this book helps readers comprehend the opportunities, challenges, disappointment, and resiliency of youth who are trying to successfully transition into independence and adulthood. On Their Own integrates three main ideas throughout the book, the significance of close personal relationships, the significance of appropriate, in-depth instruction particularly focusing on monetary organization, and the innate capabilities for commitment and direction (pp. 9-10). Research highlights the importance of close, family-like relationships with well-informed, kind adults (p. 10). Difficulty stems from the inability to push this type of relationship. It is necessary to advocate for long lasting relationships with stable adults who are able to serve as role models for young people in foster care. While there are ten different stories and ten different end results, together their stories paint a fairly representative picture of what its like growing up in the foster care system. Jermaine, Jeffrey, and Lamar are three brothers chosen to share their stories. Only a year apart, they experienced three very different lifestyles and outcomes. All three were sent at one point to a group home called Childrens Village. After Jermaine and Jeffrey ran away several times, the three brothers took to different paths. Jermaine and Jeffrey spent a majority of their lives in and out of prison and on the streets while Lamar thrived in the group home environment. Incentives

ON THEIR OWN like being able to cook your own breakfast and earn an allowance provided enough motivation for Lamar to stay at Childrens Village. He went on to graduate from high school and through

some difficulty, attended college, became successfully employed and is living now with his wife and son in a house in which they built together. He owns a restaurant in Georgia. Jermaine and Jeffrey were in and out of prison for various charges throughout most of their lives. At 28 years old, Jermaine died in a car accident on the way home from a drug run. Jeffrey spent a total of about 12 years in prison. Through counseling and programming in prison, Jeffrey earned several different certificates and degrees. He is now drug free, living with Lamars family and is employed managing his brothers restaurant. Lamar continuously noted the importance of staff and his counselor who served as a mentor and friend. They really believed in me, which is one of the most important things anyone can do for a youngster (Shirk & Stangler, 2004, p. 23). Like Lamar, Giselle John who turned 27 in 2005, had a positive outcome to life in the foster care system. Her journey to independence was not unchallenging however. A combination of factors including a support system and the determination to not let her past dictate her future, took part in her success. Born in the Republic of Trinidad, she was molested at a young age by her mothers boyfriend. Abuse was not something that was discussed in her town. For that reason, it continued until her mother sent her to New York to live with a contact of hers. Giselles grades quickly declined as she became the maid of the house and was too tired to do her schoolwork with the number of chores she was forced to do when she got home. She proceeded to bounce around to various houses where she eventually ended up in the foster care system. Her support system began with her teacher, Mrs. Stanford. She took an interest in my life, and I felt special. I had found someone who thought I was valuable. We developed a good

ON THEIR OWN relationship. I began to settle down and go to school more often (Shirk & Stangler, 2004, p. 221). Through this relationship, she participated in various activities that aided in forming additional strong relationships. Giselle found support through swim team, friends, and her

church. A placement in foster care proved to be detrimental to Giselles health. Her foster mother restricted the consumption of food and would not allow Giselle to eat in the house unless it was at the scheduled time. She became anorexic and bulimic, surviving on water and gum. She was admitted to a hospital where she relearned how to let herself eat and learned healthy eating habits. She still struggles with eating. New York allows foster care youth to stay in the care of the system until they are 21 years old, which Giselle took advantage of. After she finished high school, she became involved in Youth Communications, an organization that instructs youth in journalism. With a talent for writing, this organization, one woman in particular, served as a new part of her support system. They were encouraging and caring, particularly in terms of her psychological, emotional, and physical health. Giselle landed an apprenticeship with the organization when she was then offered a job, writing about life and the foster care system, something she enjoyed. When Giselle received her bachelors degree, she was offered a full time job and now receives health benefits. Reggie Kelsey was placed in foster care at age 14. He was immediately labeled as mentally retarded, functioning at a third grade level. As he aged, he began having hallucinations and often struggled with differentiating between real and unreal events. Therapists tagged him as having severe Depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Reactive Attachment Disorder, and Psychotic tendencies. Reggie worried about life after foster care. With his 18th birthday approaching, he told a school social worker that he sometimes thought about killing someone, because at least in jail he would

ON THEIR OWN have a place to stay and three meals a day (Shirk & Stangler, 2004, p. 185). At age 18 he was thrown out of his placement and dropped off at a homeless shelter by

one of his counselors. As an adult, Reggie qualified for supervision and treatment services, along with Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). However, because his caseworker failed to provide Reggie with his Social Security card and birth certificate, he was unable to apply for these governmental programs. She also did not work to make any of the adult services open to him. Staff reported Reggie needs an extensive support system which includes multiple agency involvement for adult services, now that he is eighteen (Shirk & Stangler, 2004, p. 205). Regardless of reports by staff and medical personnel, he was left at a homeless shelter where he proceeded to hop around from shelter to shelter. During this time a small group of people attempted to assist him in meeting the requirements for services and federal disability benefits. When shelters were at capacity, or his hallucinations were too strong, he would sleep under bridges and in warehouses. In 2001, three months after being thrown out of foster care, a group of fisherman found Reggies body in the Des Moines River. He was identified by a selfinflicted star tattoo on his arm and dental records. Reggies death sparked public protests and articles asking for additional services. In 2002 a bill was signed, requiring planning and independent living services beginning for foster care youth at age 16 (p. 212). While improvements have been made, there is much to be done concerning programs that serve at-risk youth. On Their Own (2004) provides a fairly in-depth and easy to read action plan, directed at providing transition services for foster care youth. While the book discusses each section in a more detailed fashion, the five main areas of focus are education, employment, housing,

ON THEIR OWN health care, and personal and community engagement (Shirk & Stangler, 2004, p. 248). Purpose of the book The purpose of On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System (2004) is to inform those who care about the future of our youth in the United States. We hope that you will be inspired by the tenacity, resilience, and perseverance that these young people display in the face of numerous obstacles. But we expect, too, that your heart will ache as you read of the lingering effects of abuse or neglect and their bewilderment about how to navigate a complex world for which they have been poorly prepared. (Shirk & Stangler, 2004, p. 3)

This work of non-fiction is presented from a neutral point of view, highlighting both positive and negative aspects of the foster care system in terms of youth aging out. It is meant to illustrate the harsh realities this group of youth is facing and to offer a plan of action to support them through their transition from foster care into adulthood. Shirk and Stangler (2004) send a crystal clear message to readers and policy makers that change and action is needed for youth aging out of foster care. There are programs and assistance available now, but as a nation we can do better for our youth. What sort of information did the authors use as a basis for the book? Gary Stangler, director of Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative sought the help of Martha Shirk, a journalist, to select a group of young men and women who through their stories, could assist in sharing the realities of those who have transitioned from foster care (p. 8). Through conversation with numerous youth, Shirk selected ten young individuals to participate in extensive interviews. A week was spent with each participant, excluding two individuals who

ON THEIR OWN died before she had the opportunity to meet with them again. After their meetings, they kept in contact through e-mail, phone, and mail. Does the book provide accurate and complete information? Why or why not? It is difficult to attest to complete accuracy, as they are their individual stories. Through conversation, Martha Shirk was able to gather very personal information about their lives. My understanding is that the information was collected through observation, conversation, and interviews. How did the book contribute to your understanding of adolescents and their families?

On Their Own has increased my awareness of the programs available for youth aging out of foster care, the general workings of the foster care system, the numerous obstacles youth aging out of foster care face, and the desperate need for improved programming. While there are many heart breaking details shared in this book, their stories have supplemented my knowledge of the existence of positive outcomes and their unwavering ability to persevere. It is clear from reading the stories of these ten young men and women that there can be significant repercussions associated with neglect and abuse. The unstable relationships between adolescents and their families can have detrimental effects to their development. However, it is also exemplified in Giselle and Monicas story that the negative experiences of there past do not have to decide their future. As Giselle said, there is life after abuseyou can survive this (Shirk & Stangler, 2004, p. 243). According to Shirk and Stangler (2004) research on the resiliency of at-risk adolescents has found that many do well, no matter how difficult their family situations, if they have a caring relationship with an adult (p. 221). It is absolutely necessary to work toward implementing strong, stable, permanent relationships with youth in foster care. The stories of

ON THEIR OWN Jermaine, Jeffrey, Lamar, Giselle, Reggie, Monica, Casey-Jack, Raquel, Alfonso, and Patty include on some level a support system, or lack thereof. One could infer from reading their

stories that a support system in correlation with other factors has the potential to assist foster care youth in a successful transition from the foster care system to independent living. Would you recommend the book to a fellow student? Why or why not? Yes, I would highly recommend this book to fellow students. This book is well written and easy to read. It has been written in a way that allows the readers to connect in some way on a personal level to each individual. Strong emotion and personal success and tragedy are conveyed through the pages of On Their Own. Research, graphs, and tables supplement the information with an appropriate number of pictures that further grasp the reader. This book not only addresses youth aging out of foster care, but youth at risk in general. Therefore it is of use for not only those interested in foster care, but all youth development professionals. On Their Own addresses very relevant issues, which only further substantiates the need for further circulation of this book. What did you learn from this book review assignment? This book review assignment has allowed me to read On Their Own through a different lens. I was able to focus on different aspects of adolescents and their families in addition to a more directed line of questioning provided for this assignment. This information provided me with the ability to think about the questions while reading the book. Previous class readings in addition to discussion forum conversations also enhanced my knowledge of the foster care system, which allowed me to approach this book review assignment from a different point of view.

ON THEIR OWN Reference Shirk, M., & Stangler, G. (2004). On their own: What happens to kids when they age out of the foster care system. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

10