Foster Kids Falling Through the Cracks

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-04-10 20:32:00 UTC
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The slow job market is affecting everyone these days. But for those vulnerable to unemployment when times were good, the sour economy is hitting especially hard.

Among these affected populations are young people aging out of the foster care system. After a lifetime bouncing through the "system," these young people are on their own on their 18th (or, in some cases, 21st) birthday. Many struggle to find a job, earn an education, and live independently once their time in the foster system is up, but it's tough, as the New York Times describes:

"They get a lot of resources until they're 21, and then essentially none," said James J. Golden, the executive director of the Edwin Gould Academy in East Harlem, which provides housing exclusively to former foster children. "It's like falling off a cliff for some of them."

In New York, foster children are allowed to leave the system when they turn 18 but can stay until 21; last year, 407 wards turned 21, while 547 opted out early - 375 at age 18, and 172 at 19 or 20.

Once discharged from the system, some move in with family or friends, get jobs or go to college. Others apply for welfare as their sole source of income, and often end up homeless.

Young people aging out of foster care must work to make ends meet, including making rent payments. But the combination of a slow job market and a lack of work experience put these young people at a real disadvantage.

Michael Smith, 20, said he was increasingly anxious as he approached the day in August that he will have to leave his foster home in Brooklyn. He has been searching for work since October, leaving résumés at places like McDonald's and the clothing stores Express and H & M.

Mr. Smith graduated from high school in Queens in 2006 and went to Kingsborough Community College, but he dropped out after his sickle-cell anemia caused him to miss class frequently.

"I'm coming up to my 21st birthday, when I'm no longer going to be supported," Mr. Smith said. "I feel overlooked all the times I do go apply for these jobs. But I have to do this, or else I'll be out on the street."

In many communities, programs exist to help foster youth aging out of the system. But in most cases, the need is much greater than the resources available for these young people.

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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