Safety Net Sought for Former Foster Kids as They Enter Adult World
By Shana Gruskin, Staff Writer
Originally published in the Sun-Sentinel, May 24, 2001
Many teens raised in a succession of foster homes or group facilities dash out of state care the moment they come of age.
Then reality slaps them in the face.
For 25 percent to 30 percent of them, freedom turns into homelessness, according to numerous national studies. For 40 percent to 60 percent of them, partying ends with early parenthood.
"We had somebody to fall back on when we bombed out. Some of these kids don't have anybody," said Brenna Molinary, community resource coordinator for The Haven, a therapeutic residence for children in Boca Raton.
They may soon.
In Palm Beach County, at least three advocacy agencies are pursuing programs specifically for former foster youth who hit adulthood without returning home or being adopted.
They'd provide transitional housing, job training and social-skills classes to those 18 and older who've been raised by a system instead of a parent. More importantly, they'd offer struggling teens and young adults emotional support in an often overwhelming, potentially dangerous world.
Other social service agencies are, at the very least, pondering the issue.
"Everyone is talking about this because it is the one thing we do not have at all," said Molinary, whose agency is trying to purchase land for just such a venture. "These kids go out there, and they fall on their faces, and they end up in shelters."
Of the 840 Florida teens who left foster care last year, less than 20 percent received what's referred to as after-care services, according to the Department of Children & Families. This year in Palm Beach County, 21 foster youth who reached adulthood continued to receive help.
That's why, advocates say, developing programs for former foster children is vital.
"I watched what happened to the 18-year-olds that had to go out the door," said Elizabeth Brown, a social worker and Palm Beach County native trying to start up a project in Lake Worth. "I got phone calls that they didn't have a place to stay. I got phone calls they didn't have money.
"They're scared, they're lonely and they are ill-equipped."
For decades, advocates—preoccupied with the nation's beleaguered child welfare system—paid little attention to what happened to young adults once they outgrew foster care.
In the 1990s, numerous studies found homelessness, joblessness, incarceration and pregnancy were rampant among youth unprepared for life outside the system.
In 1999, the U.S. Congress passed the Foster Care Independence Act that gave states more tools—and doubled the amount of money available to $140 million—to aid those getting too old for adoption. Florida's independent living budget swelled from $990,000 to more than $5 million, said Jo Anne Richmond, the department's independent living coordinator.
Besides expanding life-skills programs for children still in foster care, the additional money meant states could address the needs of former foster youth who turned their backs on the state, only to realize—too late—they couldn't make it on their own.
"Before we could do a referral and maybe a bus pass here or there," Richmond said. "With this new after-care money, this will allow us to assist youth that do come back and say, `I do need some help.'
"We want them to know there is a resource for them so they don't go hungry or go without a roof over their head."
The national attention and new money, plus Florida's push toward privatizing all foster care-related services, has prodded people like Brown into action.
As part of her Turtle Nest Village project, she wants to buy an apartment building and house it with 20 former foster youth. She plans to give them GED tutoring, mental-health counseling, sex education and anger-management training. So far, she's been promised $60,000 in private donations but estimates she needs another $340,000 to get the project under way. She hopes to be open in January.
Brown's not alone. Dan Brannen, who works for The Altman Foundation for Children in Boca Raton, expects to open Kids@Home this fall for 60 former foster youth. Like Brown's program, Brannen's would offer housing and practical training in things like bill paying, house cleaning and grocery shopping. It would also have an educational and job-skills component. He said he needs $1.3 million to get the job done.
Whether the money—either from the state, charitable organizations or private donors—will be there for all these start-ups remains to be seen. But those like Brannen say that no matter how many groups end up opening their doors, the discussion alone will benefit these young adults.
"I think it's the beginning of something tremendous for the community and the kids who are going to leave the system."
