Foster Care Challenges

Moving into adulthood comes with its challenges for any teen. Of the 300,000 youth in foster care, the 25,000 currently facing transition experience even more challenges. Most youth leaving the foster care system do not receive enough support to succeed while living independently. Youth that have been placed in the foster care system are more likely to be imprisoned, unemployed, and uneducated. Together, those three things often lead to homelessness. These kids are thrown into a system that they do not understand, leaving them unprepared for the challenges that adult life includes. The issue is whether or not the foster care system provides a sufficient transitional living program for youths that are beginning to age out of the system (Courtney).

Most teens who are aging out of foster care tend to do so by the age of 18. Many states have moved the age of emancipation to 21; however, the youths have the option to leave at the age of 18. Most individuals leave at 18 because they are frustrated with the system that has constrained them, and they finally have control over their own independence. This age is too young because their maturity level is at a lower level than that of an average 18-year-old due to having numerous transitions, interrupted education, and lack of stability. That being said, less than 20% of the youths that leave the system are successful at self-supporting. All of these factors and statistics show that these adolescents are not ready to live life on their own. If a teen does get some support, it typically comes from judges and his or her social worker that are involved with the case. These relationships rarely continue once the child hits the age of emancipation. This lack of a support system sets the teen up for failure when the teen most needs support and structure help to make decisions that will sustain him or her and help the individual recover from undeserved setbacks (Courtney, Cook).
The teens that leave the foster care system without proper support often fall to the very real issue of homelessness.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, for these young teens to locate and maintain a home for themselves. Landlords often see a risk when assessing youth to be renters. Additionally, most landlords require large deposits that the emancipated youth cannot afford because of a lack of funds; this population will not be able to meet the requirements of the of the contract. A study in 2003 stated that over 40% of the emancipated foster care children said that they were homeless at some point after leaving the foster care system. Furthermore, this statistic does not include those who were staying with friends and family until they were asked to move on. Although homelessness is not the only issue for teens emancipated from the system, it is a good place to start. Providing a safe and secure environment for the teens would be beneficial because many came from unsafe and and unstable homes

(Pecora).
Transitional problems for the teens are heightened by mental health issues.

Many kids that are in the system are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, attachment issues, and several other mental health issues due to genetic or situational realities. Once the youth is emancipated, it is difficult to keep up with the medicine that the teens were taking and require. This problem can be caused by teens not wanting to take their prescribed medicine because the teens were forced to take it or a lack of understanding of how to navigate the health care system to receive the needed medication to stay healthy

(Courtney).
Although the foster care system is not perfect, there are others programs being created to help smooth out the transitioning process for the youth. For example, Year Up is program that puts the youth through a six-month training period that focuses on job skills, interpersonal skills, professional issues, and teamwork. The students who do well in the program receive an internship with a company that has been trained in employing at-risk youth and are supportive of the program. Year Up works with over 2000 youth annually which is outstanding number, but in reality, it barely puts a dent in the lingering problem (Year).