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Julia Jue
Writing 39C
Professor Broadbent
1 June 2018
Background:
Thousands of kids are having to leave behind the life they knew and having to
live on their own without assistance. Once foster kids turn 18 they have to leave the
foster care system; as they age out of the foster care system, they lack the skills that
kids their age should know in order to be successful in life. Since people “haven’t been
prepared for the aging out process, suddenly that security blanket is gone” (Getz).
Aging out of the foster care system is a problem that needs to be addressed because
the government does not help these kids once they age out so they have to make their
own decisions of what they think is best for them. They have to use the skills that they
learned from the foster care system to provide for themselves financially and physically.
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29,500 youth, ages 18 and older, transition out of foster care with limited independent
living skills and without a permanent family—all critical factors to a successful transition
into adulthood” (Torrico). Living without a family or even a person to help guide them
through this transition is difficult because they only have themselves to rely on. The
causes of aging out of the foster care system is the result of a legislation of 18 being the
age where kids have to start living on their own. Another cause of this problem is that
the foster care system may not prioritize the need of preparing the older kids for the
transition into adulthood; when these foster kids have to leave, they may not know what
with foster kids and the background they are from; the
obstacles, those who are aging out of the foster care system need to provide financially
for themselves but it may be difficult for them to do this because certain jobs or
companies may prefer their candidates to have certain skills but kids from foster care
Variation of Solutions:
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The Chafee Act has made an impact on the problem of aging out and has made
“a pivotal step on behalf of youth living in poverty” (Atkinson). Their goals are to provide
funding for housing, education and Medicaid until they are 21; this act has prepared
foster care children with the abilities they need as they take high school or college
classes (McFarlane). Gravitating toward those who are aging out, this act provides
personal and emotional support to help them make a smooth transition into adulthood.
By having laws to equip those who are aging out, it will provide more time for
foster kids to prepare the skills they need for adulthood; these laws are building blocks
in this transition to help them be successful in the future. One of the laws is the
McKinney-Vento Act which provides transportation to school for homeless kids and
situations”; by providing this opportunity, it gives those who have aged out a chance to
learn additional skills that they may not have been taught in the foster care system.
Another important law is the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act which provides
foster care support up to 21 (Smith). By extending the age to 21, it will provide more
time to equip foster children for the transition to adulthood. These acts will allot more
time for these kids to learn in school; by completing high school, they would be able to
say that they have received a high school diploma which could result in a job that will be
able to support themselves or they would have the option of continuing their education
at a university. The Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act can influence the life of
these children because since these children are given more time to prepare for the
transition to adulthood, they’ll be able to utilize that time to learn about the
responsibilities they may encounter when they are older. In the United States, 18 is
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“When youth in foster care are able to form close and trusting
relationships with caring adults . . . who act as gatekeepers for their
futures, they can be effectively buffered from the stresses and
disorder of their own families and the disruption of shifting foster care
arrangements.” - Mentoring Youth in Foster Care, 2006
when people have more rights and are officially legal. When they turn 18, they may not
be familiar with their responsibilities and the rights they have, so they may encounter
some problems but since they’ll still be funded by the government, they could use this
time to learn from these experiences; by having 3 extra years, it will give them time to
Throughout this stage in their life, social support is crucial in making a smooth
transition into adulthood; whether it’s social workers, therapists or foster parents, social
support allows foster kids to talk openly to someone who can guide them through this
transition and help them through their problems (Jones). Getz’s “research shows that
the most important predictor of success...is relationships”; the lack of social support is a
factor that could leave foster kids “psychologically homeless” because they may
encounter a problem in their journey but they would not have anyone to go to nor would
One of the most influential federal incentives was the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008; this organization “creates opportunities
for states to support the permanency and well-being of older youth in foster care
through new support and services” (Torrico). One of the many accomplishments that
this organization has achieved is extending the adoption incentive payment program to
make more incentive payments for older children; a program that has risen from this
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organization is extending the Independent Living Program (ILP) which extends the
eligibility of educational resources for foster kids to learn life skills through a fund of
Subsidies provide assistance to families to lower the cost as they adopt a child
percent reported that the availability of subsidy was important to their decision to adopt
and 58 percent said they could not adopt without a subsidy” (Smith).
One Solution:
Adoption is a way for individuals to start a family; not only would it benefit those
wanting to expand their family but it could help those who are in the foster care system
that are seeking for a family. By providing incentives to promote adoption, it would help
solve the problem of aging out of foster care; adoption is also associated with better
education and better psychological outcomes for children in comparison to those who
stay in foster care long term (Hansen). According to Hansen, “⅓ of US adults have
considered adoption but it hasn’t met more than 40% of the need” of those who are
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aging out of the foster care system without a family. The Adoption Incentive Program
has decreased the number of children waiting in foster care because it has allowed
more than 440,000 adoptions from foster care throughout the United States and with
this program, state financial bonuses provide more than $211 million in adoption
for those that don’t have a ‘medical home’; this assistance covers the cost if one has
medical needs that aren’t covered by a family’s health insurance; these services include
therapy or rehabilitation services they may need to get better (Child Welfare Information
Gateway, Getz). Lastly, another influential federal program is the Adoption and Safe
Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) which provides funding for post adoption and allows states
to earn bonuses for the increase of adoptions from foster care (Hansen).
A benefit from providing subsidies is that it’d encourage more families to adopt
children from foster care, which would reduce the amount of children aging out of foster
care. The children who are adopted get a chance to become a part of a family; “being
part of a family means ‘you have support and help in everything that you do; having a
family means that someone is there to care about you no matter what happens, [which]
is truly one of the best things’” (Smith). Having parents that are empathetic and
understanding creates a bond of trust; parents that exemplify these traits make a
difference in the lives of foster children because they set examples of how kids should
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be loved and be reminded that they are important. “Many of those children’s lives may
they could call home. An 11 year old girl in rural Oregon, “walked 13 miles to a local
tavern in plastic sandals and convinced a man she didn’t know to drive her two and a
half hours north to Long Beach, Washington. She was sick of foster care. She wanted to
go home” (Stone). This story demonstrates the longing for a home that is a place where
kids wouldn’t have to worry about moving houses nor would they have to worry about
finding a place to sleep. Also, in the foster care system, when children are moved from
house to house, they may have felt like they are “expected to conform to adult value
systems, accentuat[ing] the distress of being separated from their known world. It’s one
more way to feel [one doesn’t] belong” (Stone). By placing a foster child in a home that
is chosen for a “child’s unique needs” rather than availability, it will allow them to be in a
2008 ensures educational stability of a child when they are in foster care (Grassley). By
having a stable house, they’ll be able to have an education where they wouldn’t have to
keep switching schools; according to Torrico, as students change school, “students can
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“These youths may have insights the rest of us fail to see” - Deb
Stone, 2017
lose four to six months of academic programs” (Torrico). With the help of the Fostering
Connections to Success Act, kids “who have attained the minimum age for mandatory
school attendance under state law” would be able to have a community where there are
people their own age going through similar problems (McDermott). Also, being in the
education system, people will be able learn math and writing skills that will help them in
the future; learning from teachers will give these students the opportunity to ask them
questions in areas they are struggling with rather than having them figure it out on their
own.
support and having more time to grow as a person. Although these solutions are
important, I think that having financial incentives to promote adoption is the most
impactful solution because it encompasses all of these solutions in one. For example,
the Chafee Act prepares foster kids for high school and college classes but if a foster
child got adopted, then they’d be able to go to a school where they would not have to
worry about switching schools. Also, the solution of having social support and the
McKinney Vento Act is helpful but if a foster kid gets adopted, then they would be able
to live in a house surrounded by a family that cares for them. Lastly, changing the law to
21 would give more time for foster kids to prepare for aging out but if they were
adopted, then they would have their whole life to grow as a person, with a loving
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community beside them; in addition to all these benefits, families would be able to
receive financial benefits to help them raise a family that foster children deserve.
A concern that could arise from this problem is where this money would come
from. Again, the issue of money is a barrier that inhibits people from overcoming their
problems; by providing subsidies and funding those who adopt children from foster care
may bring about the problem of not being able to afford paying for a foster child but
there are many legislations that support the adoption of foster kids. In comparison to
other solutions, the legislation of aging out by the age of 21 wouldn’t cost a lot but it may
not be as big of an incentive to adopt these foster children since they’d be older.
Conclusion:
The problem of aging out of the foster care system is a problem that needs to be
addressed and by providing subsidies to encourage adoption, I think that it’ll decrease
the amount of kids who are aging out. By having a family and a sense of belonging, it
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would change how these foster kids view their life and it could change their mentality
that there are people in this world that could make a difference in someone’s life with
just one action; by learning from their guardian’s actions, they could display that love to
other foster kids when they are older. There are many legislations that support financial
incentives and how it could benefit those in the foster care system; even though
providing subsidies may bring about financial problems, it will still be able to benefit the
Works Cited
Atkinson, Melinda. Aging out of Foster Care: Towards a Universal Safety Net for Former
Foster Care Youth.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2011). Adoption assistance for children adopted
from
foster care. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Children's Bureau.
Getz, Lindsey. “Aging Out of Foster Care.” Parenting With Intellectual Disabilities, 2012.
Hansen, Mary Eschelbach. “Using Subsidies to Promote the Adoption of Children from
Foster Care.” Journal of family and economic issues28.3 (2007): 377–393. PMC.
Web. 13 May 2018.
Jones, Loring Paul. “The Role of Social Support in the Transition From Foster Care to
Emerging Adulthood.” Taylor & Francis, 14 Feb. 2014.
Smith, Eliott, and Michael Dineen. Time for Reform: Preventing Youth from Aging Out
on
Their Own. The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2008.
Stone, Deb. “U.S. Foster Care: A Flawed Solution That Leads To Long-Term
Problems?”
STIR Journal, 8 May 2017.
Torrico, Roxana. “Youth Aging out of Foster Care: Supporting Their Transition into
Adulthood.” Children, Youth and Families, July 2010.