Aging Out of Foster Care

What does it mean to age out of the foster care system? Aging out is simply when a child is considered too old for the foster care system to look after them. Basically, they are kicked out to fend for themselves. In many states, this happens when a child turns 18. Many problems are faced when a child ages out. They do not have a family or the life skills needed to make it on their own. Some problems faced by youth who age out include emotional disturbance, illegal drug usage, and involvement with the legal system, which makes transitioning to adult life extremely challenging. By age 26, 4% of youth who had aged out of foster care had earned a 4 year college degree.

Of the people who age out, 65% emancipate without a place to live. Less than 3% go on to college, and 51% are unemployed. In California, less than 0.3% of the state’s population is made up of foster children. However, 40% of people living in homeless shelters are former foster children. In 2012, more than 23,000 young people aged out of foster care because they were considered too old to remain. Also in 2012, the percentage of youth that had aged out of foster care increased to 10% as opposed to 8%, which was the amount in 2003. In 2013, for every young person who aged out of foster care, taxpayers and communities payed of $300,000 in social costs. This means that it costs a total of about $8 billion in social costs to the United States every year.

There are ways that states are looking to help this high number of abandoned youth. Many states have raised the age that kids are to be protected by foster care. They are starting to implement supervised independent living policies for youth aging from 18-21. They are able to re-enter foster care after a period of trial independence if they need further support. The Success Beyond 18 campaign is an effort trying to implement this idea nationwide and make the transition from foster youth to independent adult much more bearable for these children. The goal is to make it so foster youth that fear turning 18 do not dread it as much when the time comes.

Below is a map of the country that shows the extension of foster care (or lack of) depending on the state and how they came to the conclusion of extension. It also gives examples of why Washington extended their foster care system and what is required to continue to be part of foster care after age 18.