Foster Care 18 to 21 Buncombe DHHS
Aging Out of Care • More than 23,000 children will age out of the US foster care system every year. • After reaching the age of 18, 20% of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless. • Only 1 out of every 2 foster kids who age out of the system will have some form of gainful employment by the age of 24. • There is less than a 3% chance for children who have aged out of foster care to earn a college degree at any point in their life. • 7 out of 10 girls who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant before the age of 21.
Aging Out of Care • The percentage of children who age out of the foster care system and still suffer from the direct effects of PTSD: 25%. • Nearly 60% of young men who age out of the foster care system and are legally emancipated have been convicted of a crime. • About 1 in 4 kids who age out of the system will not graduate from high school or be able to pass their GED. • 75% of women and 33% of men receive government benefits to meet basic needs after they age out of the system. • 1 out of every 2 kids who age out of the system will develop a substance dependence.
Legislation • 2008 Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (H.R. 6893/P .L. 110-351) Law allows states to receive federal Title IV-E reimbursement for costs associated with supports for young adults to remain in foster care up to age 21. • In 2015, the North Carolina General Assembly revised N.C.G.S. 108A-48 - Law extends the provision of foster care benefits to young adults between 18 years of age and up to 21 years of age. • N.C.G.S. 131D-10.2B provides authority under which a young adult who turns 18 years of age while in foster care can continue to receive foster care services until the age of 21 through the Foster Care 18 to 21 program. • N.C.G.S. 7B-910.1 authorizes the court to review voluntary foster care placements for young adults in the Foster Care 18 to 21 program.
Program Participants • Must have been in foster care upon their 18 th birthday, be in school, employed or in a program to remove employment barriers. • Must live in an approved placement, licensed or otherwise • Work monthly with a social worker on independent living goals, and have quarterly meetings with their team to assess progress.
Community Partners • Goodwill Youth Services: One Life and NextGen, LINKS/ECHO • Youth Villages – Life Set • Independent Living Facilities • SECU - NEFE Financial Planning Program
LINKS • 1999, John Chafee Foster Care Independence Act. • Program serves any teen who is or was in the foster care system after age 13. • Provides assessment, case management, referral and financial assistance opportunities for youth. • All services work to meet 8 federal outcomes: Economic self-sufficiency, safe and stable housing, academic/vocational prep, personal support network, avoidance of high risk behaviors, postponed parenthood, access to health care and normalcy for youth
Buncombe Outcomes • 25 Young adults currently in the program • 100% are in safe and stable housing, 11 having their own leases • 64% are employed in the community • 60% have graduated high school, 36% active in post secondary education or have graduated from a vocational program, 1 youth attending a 4 year university, 3 are attending high school • 16% are parents, 50% of those parents retain custody of their children • 56% have a NCDL and their own vehicle • 0% are incarcerated or actively on probation
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