| Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: A Closer Look |
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Each year about 20,000 young people leave the foster care system at age 18 without being adopted or returning to their birth families. 1 Fewer than one-third of the states offer former foster youth ages 18 to 21 access to Medicaid coverage.2 An estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of foster children have physical or emotional difficulties, but a 2001 longitudinal study of youth leaving care found that 44 percent had problems obtaining health care “most or all of the time.” 3 Some studies report high school dropout rates among foster youth as high as 55 percent. 4 Two to four years after leaving foster care, foster care alumni continue to face serious challenges and hardships. A 2001 study found only half were regularly employed, more than half of the young women had given birth, and a significant number were dependent on welfare support. Nearly half of the population had been arrested, and a quarter had been homeless. 5 Children and youth in foster care are especially vulnerable to disruptions in education, a by-product of frequent placement disruptions. On average, children in foster care attend school only 76 percent of the time and foster children in special education are likely to show patterns of declining attendance. Young people who have aged out of foster care and are no longer receiving services, yet are still enrolled in school, have the poorest attendance records. 6 More research findings and helpful links: Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study: Foster alumni suffer higher rates of depression, panic disorders and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than their peers. In fact foster alumni have higher rates of PTSD than war veterans, and lower recovery rates than the general population, according to the new Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study. Simulation studies point to key reforms that could improve mental health status and educational outcomes for foster youth. Chief among them are stabilizing foster and school placements, improving screening, assessment and mental health services for foster youth, providing access to tutoring and supplemental education services, and providing for continued relationships with caring adults and concrete transitional resources after foster care. http://www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/NorthwestAlumniStudy.htm A two-page summary of findings and recommendations is here.
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