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Julia Jue

Writing 39C

Professor Broadbent

1 June 2018

Advocacy Project: Aging out of the Foster Care System

Background:

Thousands of kids are having to leave behind the life they knew and having to

live on their own without assistance. Once foster kids turn 18 they have to leave the

foster care system; as they age out of the foster care system, they lack the skills that

kids their age should know in order to be successful in life. Since people “haven’t been

prepared for the aging out process, suddenly that security blanket is gone” (Getz).

Aging out of the foster care system is a problem that needs to be addressed because

the government does not help these kids once they age out so they have to make their

own decisions of what they think is best for them. They have to use the skills that they

learned from the foster care system to provide for themselves financially and physically.
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According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “approximately

29,500 youth, ages 18 and older, transition out of foster care with limited independent

living skills and without a permanent family—all critical factors to a successful transition

into adulthood” (Torrico). Living without a family or even a person to help guide them

through this transition is difficult because they only have themselves to rely on. The

causes of aging out of the foster care system is the result of a legislation of 18 being the

age where kids have to start living on their own. Another cause of this problem is that

the foster care system may not prioritize the need of preparing the older kids for the

transition into adulthood; when these foster kids have to leave, they may not know what

to do with their life once they are living on their own.

There simply isn’t enough money in state budgets

for these kids to have the resources they need to be

successful in life. Another obstacle that arises from this

problem is the societal stigma that may be associated

with foster kids and the background they are from; the

societal stigma could inhibit them from getting a job or

from having healthy relationships that could help them in

their transition to adulthood. Relating these two

obstacles, those who are aging out of the foster care system need to provide financially

for themselves but it may be difficult for them to do this because certain jobs or

companies may prefer their candidates to have certain skills but kids from foster care

may not be equipped with those skills.

Variation of Solutions:
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The Chafee Act has made an impact on the problem of aging out and has made

“a pivotal step on behalf of youth living in poverty” (Atkinson). Their goals are to provide

funding for housing, education and Medicaid until they are 21; this act has prepared

foster care children with the abilities they need as they take high school or college

classes (McFarlane). Gravitating toward those who are aging out, this act provides

personal and emotional support to help them make a smooth transition into adulthood.

By having laws to equip those who are aging out, it will provide more time for

foster kids to prepare the skills they need for adulthood; these laws are building blocks

in this transition to help them be successful in the future. One of the laws is the

McKinney-Vento Act which provides transportation to school for homeless kids and

“allow[s] youths to have continuous education in spite of instability in their living

situations”; by providing this opportunity, it gives those who have aged out a chance to

learn additional skills that they may not have been taught in the foster care system.

Another important law is the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act which provides

foster care support up to 21 (Smith). By extending the age to 21, it will provide more

time to equip foster children for the transition to adulthood. These acts will allot more

time for these kids to learn in school; by completing high school, they would be able to

say that they have received a high school diploma which could result in a job that will be

able to support themselves or they would have the option of continuing their education

at a university. The Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act can influence the life of

these children because since these children are given more time to prepare for the

transition to adulthood, they’ll be able to utilize that time to learn about the

responsibilities they may encounter when they are older. In the United States, 18 is
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“When youth in foster care are able to form close and trusting
relationships with caring adults . . . who act as gatekeepers for their
futures, they can be effectively buffered from the stresses and
disorder of their own families and the disruption of shifting foster care
arrangements.” - Mentoring Youth in Foster Care, 2006

when people have more rights and are officially legal. When they turn 18, they may not

be familiar with their responsibilities and the rights they have, so they may encounter

some problems but since they’ll still be funded by the government, they could use this

time to learn from these experiences; by having 3 extra years, it will give them time to

adjust to their responsibilities and rights.

Throughout this stage in their life, social support is crucial in making a smooth

transition into adulthood; whether it’s social workers, therapists or foster parents, social

support allows foster kids to talk openly to someone who can guide them through this

transition and help them through their problems (Jones). Getz’s “research shows that

the most important predictor of success...is relationships”; the lack of social support is a

factor that could leave foster kids “psychologically homeless” because they may

encounter a problem in their journey but they would not have anyone to go to nor would

they know what to do in that moment (Jones).

One of the most influential federal incentives was the Fostering Connections to

Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008; this organization “creates opportunities

for states to support the permanency and well-being of older youth in foster care

through new support and services” (Torrico). One of the many accomplishments that

this organization has achieved is extending the adoption incentive payment program to

make more incentive payments for older children; a program that has risen from this
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organization is extending the Independent Living Program (ILP) which extends the

eligibility of educational resources for foster kids to learn life skills through a fund of

$5,000 a year for each youth to pursue secondary education (McDermott).

Subsidies provide assistance to families to lower the cost as they adopt a child

who has been in foster care. Hansen

uses data from the Adoption and Foster

Care Analysis and Reporting System to

discover how subsidies affect adoption

rates. Many studies show that subsidies

for adoption is an influential factor for

those thinking about adopting a foster

child; according to a survey of

prospective adoptive parents, “81

percent reported that the availability of subsidy was important to their decision to adopt

and 58 percent said they could not adopt without a subsidy” (Smith).

One Solution:

Adoption is a way for individuals to start a family; not only would it benefit those

wanting to expand their family but it could help those who are in the foster care system

that are seeking for a family. By providing incentives to promote adoption, it would help

solve the problem of aging out of foster care; adoption is also associated with better

education and better psychological outcomes for children in comparison to those who

stay in foster care long term (Hansen). According to Hansen, “⅓ of US adults have

considered adoption but it hasn’t met more than 40% of the need” of those who are
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“One third of US adults have considered adoption but it hasn’t met

more than 40% of the need” - Mary Hansen, 2007

aging out of the foster care system without a family. The Adoption Incentive Program

has decreased the number of children waiting in foster care because it has allowed

more than 440,000 adoptions from foster care throughout the United States and with

this program, state financial bonuses provide more than $211 million in adoption

incentive funds (Smith).

Another resource is state adoption assistance which provides medical assistance

for those that don’t have a ‘medical home’; this assistance covers the cost if one has

medical needs that aren’t covered by a family’s health insurance; these services include

therapy or rehabilitation services they may need to get better (Child Welfare Information

Gateway, Getz). Lastly, another influential federal program is the Adoption and Safe

Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) which provides funding for post adoption and allows states

to earn bonuses for the increase of adoptions from foster care (Hansen).

A benefit from providing subsidies is that it’d encourage more families to adopt

children from foster care, which would reduce the amount of children aging out of foster

care. The children who are adopted get a chance to become a part of a family; “being

part of a family means ‘you have support and help in everything that you do; having a

family means that someone is there to care about you no matter what happens, [which]

is truly one of the best things’” (Smith). Having parents that are empathetic and

understanding creates a bond of trust; parents that exemplify these traits make a

difference in the lives of foster children because they set examples of how kids should
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be loved and be reminded that they are important. “Many of those children’s lives may

be forever affected..as a by-product of [parent’s] intervention” (Stone). By adopting a

child from foster care, it can impact a

child’s life and when they grow up, they

may reflect their parent’s actions and

adopt a child from foster care when they

grow up. In addition to having a family,

they would be able to live in a house that

they could call home. An 11 year old girl in rural Oregon, “walked 13 miles to a local

tavern in plastic sandals and convinced a man she didn’t know to drive her two and a

half hours north to Long Beach, Washington. She was sick of foster care. She wanted to

go home” (Stone). This story demonstrates the longing for a home that is a place where

kids wouldn’t have to worry about moving houses nor would they have to worry about

finding a place to sleep. Also, in the foster care system, when children are moved from

house to house, they may have felt like they are “expected to conform to adult value

systems, accentuat[ing] the distress of being separated from their known world. It’s one

more way to feel [one doesn’t] belong” (Stone). By placing a foster child in a home that

is chosen for a “child’s unique needs” rather than availability, it will allow them to be in a

place where they can grow as a person (Stone).

The Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act of

2008 ensures educational stability of a child when they are in foster care (Grassley). By

having a stable house, they’ll be able to have an education where they wouldn’t have to

keep switching schools; according to Torrico, as students change school, “students can
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“These youths may have insights the rest of us fail to see” - Deb

Stone, 2017

lose four to six months of academic programs” (Torrico). With the help of the Fostering

Connections to Success Act, kids “who have attained the minimum age for mandatory

school attendance under state law” would be able to have a community where there are

people their own age going through similar problems (McDermott). Also, being in the

education system, people will be able learn math and writing skills that will help them in

the future; learning from teachers will give these students the opportunity to ask them

questions in areas they are struggling with rather than having them figure it out on their

own.

The other solutions addressed the problems of education, homelessness, social

support and having more time to grow as a person. Although these solutions are

important, I think that having financial incentives to promote adoption is the most

impactful solution because it encompasses all of these solutions in one. For example,

the Chafee Act prepares foster kids for high school and college classes but if a foster

child got adopted, then they’d be able to go to a school where they would not have to

worry about switching schools. Also, the solution of having social support and the

McKinney Vento Act is helpful but if a foster kid gets adopted, then they would be able

to live in a house surrounded by a family that cares for them. Lastly, changing the law to

21 would give more time for foster kids to prepare for aging out but if they were

adopted, then they would have their whole life to grow as a person, with a loving
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community beside them; in addition to all these benefits, families would be able to

receive financial benefits to help them raise a family that foster children deserve.

A concern that could arise from this problem is where this money would come

from. Again, the issue of money is a barrier that inhibits people from overcoming their

problems; by providing subsidies and funding those who adopt children from foster care

may bring about the problem of not being able to afford paying for a foster child but

there are many legislations that support the adoption of foster kids. In comparison to

other solutions, the legislation of aging out by the age of 21 wouldn’t cost a lot but it may

not be as big of an incentive to adopt these foster children since they’d be older.

Providing financial incentives would

convince more families to adopt

from the foster care system

because they would be getting

assistance from the government

and at the same time, they will

know that they are making a

difference in the life of a child who

could have had a completely different life if they weren’t adopted.

Conclusion:

The problem of aging out of the foster care system is a problem that needs to be

addressed and by providing subsidies to encourage adoption, I think that it’ll decrease

the amount of kids who are aging out. By having a family and a sense of belonging, it
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would change how these foster kids view their life and it could change their mentality

that there are people in this world that could make a difference in someone’s life with

just one action; by learning from their guardian’s actions, they could display that love to

other foster kids when they are older. There are many legislations that support financial

incentives and how it could benefit those in the foster care system; even though

providing subsidies may bring about financial problems, it will still be able to benefit the

community and to those who have aged out.

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Works Cited

Atkinson, Melinda. Aging out of Foster Care: Towards a Universal Safety Net for Former
Foster Care Youth.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2011). Adoption assistance for children adopted
from
foster care. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Children's Bureau.

Getz, Lindsey. “Aging Out of Foster Care.” Parenting With Intellectual Disabilities, 2012.

Grassley, Chuck. “S.3038 - Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship

Support Act of 2008.” Congress.gov, 16 Sept. 2008.

Hansen, Mary Eschelbach. “Using Subsidies to Promote the Adoption of Children from
Foster Care.” Journal of family and economic issues28.3 (2007): 377–393. PMC.
Web. 13 May 2018.

Jones, Loring Paul. “The Role of Social Support in the Transition From Foster Care to
Emerging Adulthood.” Taylor & Francis, 14 Feb. 2014.

McDermott, Jim. “H.R.6307 - Fostering Connections to Success Act.” Congress.gov, 25

June 2008.

McFarlane, Kimberly A. “Advertisement.” Tackling Foster Care Age-Out Issues, 1 July

2013.

Mentoring Youth in Foster Care. OJJDP, 2006,

https://reachga.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Mentoring-Youth-in-Foster-
Care.p
df.
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Smith, Eliott, and Michael Dineen. Time for Reform: Preventing Youth from Aging Out
on
Their Own. The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2008.

Stone, Deb. “U.S. Foster Care: A Flawed Solution That Leads To Long-Term
Problems?”
STIR Journal, 8 May 2017.

Torrico, Roxana. “Youth Aging out of Foster Care: Supporting Their Transition into
Adulthood.” Children, Youth and Families, July 2010.