For many people, reaching adulthood is an important milestone often celebrated with family and friends. Yet in 2019 alone, more than 20,000 youth came of age in America’s foster care system without a permanent family by their side. The outcomes facing these young people often reveal a stark divide between the “haves” and “have nots” in our society. In light of this divide, the federal government, as well as individuals and communities, should seek to expand and strengthen the supportive networks for youth preparing to exit foster care.
As a sibling of a young person who previously spent time in foster care, this issue hits close to home for me. Currently, around 250,000 young people enter America’s foster care system each year due to circumstances far beyond their control, including abandonment and abuse. Not all youth, however, will return to their original homes or find more permanent living situations. The laws vary by state, but on or between their 18th and 21st birthdays, young people who are still in the foster care system are typically cut off from much of the government’s previous support for their wellbeing, ready or not. In other words, they have “aged out” of the foster care system.
However, far too many youth are faced with grim outcomes upon leaving foster care. Around 25% of former foster youth experience homelessness within four years of aging out. Less than 3% of youth who grow up in foster care graduate from a 4-year college. Meanwhile, half of young people have no income within four years of aging out, while those who do make an average of $7,500 per year. In response to the pandemic, the federal government implemented an extension on the aging out requirement, but this is just a temporary solution set to expire on October 1. Given the outcomes stemming from our current system, one point that requires further consideration is the broken relationships and resulting trauma that have characterized the foster care system.
This pattern in turn directs us toward the potential for strengthening the supportive networks around youth, including through expanding access to mentorship. Yet, among those with power to change the foster care system for the better, relationship-centered solutions have not gained much traction. Currently, federal programs such as the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood provide funding for practical needs such as room and board, as well as education and employment assistance. Mentorship and connection to caring adults usually appear further down the list of supported areas, if at all. While programs that fulfill pressing short-term needs and teach skills to young people are valuable, more emphasis should also be directed towards the significant ways in which relationships, mentorship, and support from caring adults can fill in the gaps.
In preparing young people for life beyond foster care, it is key to recognize the importance of supportive networks. As Dr. Johanna Greeson, the Managing Faculty Director at The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, & Research at the University of Pennsylvania, said in an interview with the HPR, “Let’s get away from the idea that the goal is for these young people to be independent. None of us are independent. We all rely on the relationships we have; we live interdependently, that’s what the goal should be for youth who age out of foster care.”
Given the importance of relationships, the benefits of mentorship and supportive networks are not just confined to young people with experience in foster care. Research demonstrates often life-changing outcomes for youth, especially those who face an opportunity gap. For example, young people who are mentored are much more likely to graduate high school and college. Greeson, who also has a background in social work, said that for youth preparing to age out of foster care, society “should set them up for interdependence, which means helping them cultivate and nurture these kinds of relationships with caring adults, so that when they leave care, they know they have a network that will support them.”
The good news in this regard is that relationship-centered solutions have at least entered the conversation among lawmakers at the federal level. This year, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing May as National Foster Youth Month. Also in May, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth introduced the Foster Youth Mentoring Act of 2021, which not only recognizes the problem, but also contains concrete solutions such as grants to support mentoring programs. Nevertheless, the unfortunate fact is that bills like the latter too often die in committee.
Indeed, this latest bill on mentorship comes in the stead of multiple failed attempts over the past decade, all bearing similar names. Although the Foster Youth Mentoring Act of 2021 would appropriate $100 million over the next two years to support mentorship programs, funding will most likely be one of the biggest barriers in the bill’s success. In contrast to more established programs like Social Security, the relative lack of momentum toward relationship-centered solutions in the context of foster care makes it even more difficult to mobilize lawmakers around this issue, especially beyond emergency conditions such as the pandemic.
Yet solutions like mentorship require much more than just our federal government’s support, even though that recognition itself is essential. For youth who have spent time in unstable conditions like foster care, previous trauma can often erode trust and prevent them from creating deeper relationships with caring adults. Thus, any supportive network will require action on the part of individuals and communities as well, from first learning about the issue, to reaching out to youth, to potentially becoming mentors and caring adults in the lives of these young people.
Ultimately, mentorship is just one of many possible ways in which society can support young people who reach adulthood within the foster care system. This will take initiative on the parts of individuals and communities, with or without action from Congress. Although the usual challenges surrounding funding and resources still lie ahead, expanding and strengthening supportive networks could increase positive outcomes for the thousands of young people in foster care.
Image by Tolu Olarewaju is licensed under the Unsplash License.
