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Being On Your Own After Foster Care
Posted on November 16, 2004
The Festival film Dedicated to My Family examines the story of one young girl living in a teen shelter. But what happens to teens when they turn 18 and the foster care system no longer provides for them? Each year, as many as 25,000 teenagers grow out of foster care and are suddenly left to make important decision after years of a government agency providing answers for them. Without the proper tools to navigate society on their own and without family support and personal connections to rely on, the future often holds homelessness, unemployment, loneliness and grief. There is currently no infrastructure in place to provide access to higher education, vocational training, medical care and housing for these teens. Martha Shirk’s new book On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System examines the lives of ten young individuals who have left foster care and calls attention to the social and economic barriers these youth face.
Learn more about opportunities for youth leaving the foster care system from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunuties Initiative.
Get more information on On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System