Foster Care

Youth in the foster system should receive better support through a more effective and compassionate foster care system that prioritizes their well-being and empowerment. By developing evidence-based policy solutions, FREOPP aims to enhance access to education, mental health services, and resources for foster families. Collaborative efforts and innovative solutions can create a system that not only meets the immediate needs of foster children but also fosters their long-term success and stability.

Each year, more than 23,000 children age out of foster care when they turn 18 or, for those who live in states that offer extended time in care, as late as 21. These children were unable to reunite with their biological parents and were never adopted by another family.
This paper is the product of a collaboration between the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity and Gen Justice, a nonprofit working to mend the child protection system and bring a permanent end to innocent children enduring violence. Click here for a PDF version of this paper.

The state has an obligation to help these children find a safe, stable, and loving family. But many of them will leave foster care with little more than a trash bag full of clothes and their name on a housing waiting list. This paper encourages federal and state policymakers to recognize their role as surrogate parents to the teens and young adults in our nation’s foster system and provide them a modest, publicly funded spending account as they age out and are forced to step out into the world without a family to love, support, and guide them.

Children aging out of foster care enter adulthood with few of the safety nets typical teenagers may take for granted. These young adults often don’t have grandparents to give them a used car or a savvy cousin to help them navigate the college admissions process. Most importantly, children who age out typically do not have parents willing or able to help them financially when the rent is due, the refrigerator is empty, or the cell phone company threatens to shut off service.

As a result of these significant disadvantages, youth who age out
of foster care often succumb to poor life outcomes. They are significantly more likely to become homeless, unemployed, or incarcerated than the general population. Frighteningly, most human trafficking victims were formerly in foster care, according to multiple government estimates.

Assisting children who age out with the transition to adult independence has been a longstanding bipartisan goal of national and state policymakers. For example, Congress provides grants to states to provide support and services, such as housing assistance, to former foster youth. Congress also funds education and job training vouchers, worth up to $5,000 annually, for youth who age out of care. While these federally funded programs have benefitted older foster youth, we have not yet adequately addressed the hurdles facing foster youth who age out. Policymakers therefore need to consider new strategies for supporting the difficult transition to