Here’s What Can Happen When Kids Age Out of Foster Care

Salamendacious@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 102 points – Here’s What Can Happen When Kids Age Out of Foster Care
propublica.org

Two teens aged out of New Mexico’s child welfare system last year. This photo essay shows how different their lives have become.

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The responsibility of parents isn't just to feed their kids until they're 18, but to raise them and give them what they need to become independent adults. A responsibility shared with the government through public services and social safety nets.

Without the parents, it should mean the government has all of responsibilities and can't throw people out on the street if it hasn't finished the job.

Later that week, Gonzales went to Calvary Church, where a volunteer offered to pray with her and another woman joined in. Gonzales had told pastors at both Calvary and Sagebrush churches that she was homeless and living on the street. One pastor prayed with her and signed her up for a baptism.

Oh, good, there's someone we can recruit.

We don't like providing services to people once they're 18 and we live in a time where people worship at the tax cut alter. All services cost money and there are few politicians who want to make the argument that we should raise taxes to fund more services. Until voters demand it I don't think people like Birdie will get much more than they're already getting.

I imagine it's much more difficult to be self sufficient as a young adult with the increased housing costs as well. When I was 18 I was renting a nice 3 bedroom house with a roommate paying $350 each.

I don't know how you grew up but at 18 I knew what a deposit & what a down payment was, I understood the concept of interest & an interest rate, etc. There are countless things that people think are incredibly common knowledge but if no one took the time to explain it then you're utterly lost. So many of these foster kids and group home kids completely missed out on that basic knowledge.

And it isn’t like you become an adult at 18. Hell I’m still figuring it out in my 50s.

And really, pray for her?! Thoughts and prayers don’t buy food or provide a roof over your head. It’s pointless and almost predatory.

A lot of kids need help at 18, not just ones that age out of foster care. The difference is most kids have the safety net of a family and just aren’t shoved out the door to fend for themselves. It takes time, resources, and drive to get the momentum you need to self-sustain. And honestly sometimes a lot of luck. And even then sometimes it’s not enough (I know, I have a step-son almost 40 that’s almost always teetering on the edge of collapse).

I empathize with these kids that fall through the cracks and don’t have that safety net. I feel for a lot of these millennials and gen-z kids that don’t have the same opportunities I had graduating in the late 80s. But I especially feel for these kids that feel so alone and desolate.