Elizabeth Brackett- PBS-- By nature, the foster care system is supposed to represent a temporary haven for children in need. But, shockingly, out of the 500,000 children in the system about one fourth of them stay in foster care until they are 18. Of the youth who age out of the system, the majority are unable to successfully navigate living on their own. Many of them experience difficulties in making ends meet financially, finding and maintaining stable housing, avoiding homelessness, and receiving adequate care for physical or mental illness.    

The transition from foster care to independence is particularly complicated because many states don’t offer educational or employment support to youth. Essentially, not much attention has been paid to transforming the transition process into one that would best benefit the youth. However, Congress is taking notice of the inadequate funding that transition programs receive. In 1999, $140 million was earmarked for independent living programs. The areas that these programs need to address are life skills that many people who haven’t experienced foster care take for granted, such as how to build and maintain healthy relationships, cooking for oneself, doing laundry, and how to access public transportation.

Courtesy of PBS.

LINK: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/youth/jan-june05/foster_care_5-19.html