The Film

Each year, between 20-35,000 young adults reach the end of their allotted time in the foster care system and are thrust out into the world to make it on their own – whether they are ready for it or not. These young people are forced to navigate all of the responsibilities of adulthood, many without having sufficient preparation nor the ongoing guidance and safety net that in-tact families can provide during these formative years. Some even go straight from foster care to homelessness. The struggles these youth endure result in higher incidences of incarceration, unemployment, substance abuse, teen parenting, mental health issues and educational difficulties than the rest of the population. Astonishingly, it has also been shown that former foster youth experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) nearly twice as frequently as U.S. war veterans.

Despite these hardships, we find stories of incredible resiliency and extraordinary success! Some of these youth even go on to expend tireless dedication and efforts to affect positive change in child welfare systems across the U.S., lending their expert voices on many related issues. The “aging out crisis” doesn’t have to continue – there are ways to improve outcomes for former foster youth.

Press

Life After Foster Care: PBS SoCal Documentary Sheds Light on Real-Life Stories from Transition Age Youth
February 6, 2018 (Conrad N. Hilton Foundation)

Infographic - The Cost of Doing Nothing

This two-page PDF infographic from the Annie E. Casey Foundation visualizes the costs of stopping foster care at 18 as opposed to extending high-quality, developmentally-appropriate services to age 21. It is a product of Success Beyond 18, a national campaign by the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative aimed at forging a better path for youth who are exiting foster care and entering adulthood.  Click on below photo to download the PDF.

Sources

http://www.fc2success.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/National-Fact-Sheet-on-the-Educational-Outcomes-of-Children-in-Foster-Care-Jan-2014.pdf

https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/coming-age-employment-outcomes-youth-who-age-out-foster-care-through-their-middle-twenties#eo

https://youthlaw.org/publication/cause-for-concern/

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1067828X.2014.912093?src=recsys&journalCode=wcas20

Prevention-Tactics-Vol09-No04-2009.pdf

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/FosterCare/story?id=2017991&page=1

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/by-the-numbers-dropping-out-of-high-school/

https://www.census.gov/2010census/

https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0232.pdf https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2011/compendia/statab/131ed/education.html

CC-CostAvoidance-2009.pdf