Mike Parker: Homelessness: The fate of too many foster kids
I received a text from a friend on Wednesday that posed a disturbing question:
“Hi Mike, can this be true? Almost half of all homeless are foster kids who aged out of the system?”
I replied to my friends that I would need to see credible sources to accept that assertion. The question piqued my interest, so I started digging. What I found was disturbing.
Most of the sources I found talked about the homeless in the Midwest and California, but as I kept researching, I found an article that treated the issue in North Carolina. Youth aging out of foster care are not receiving all the support available to them as they transition to adulthood, according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
For instance, in North Carolina, NC LINKS (Independent Living Services for Foster Children) is open to foster children starting at age 13. The North Carolina program, “Foster Care 18 to 21,” continues housing support for teenagers who meet eligibility requirements and were in foster care on their 18th birthdays.
Sadly, the Youth Transitions report shows North Carolina foster youth participate in transition programs such as life-skills training, mentoring and housing assistance at rates generally lower than national averages.
What happens when a youth who has been in foster care ages out of the system. One huge impediment for foster children who are now young adults is getting squeezed by high housing costs, said Meredith Yuckman, executive director of The Hope Center at Pullen. The Hope Center is a nonprofit that runs transition programs for young adults in Wake County who are former foster children.
The affordable housing shortage has a huge impact on those transitioning from foster care to adult life. “For former foster youth who don’t have the support most emerging adults would have are more likely to experience homelessness,” Yuckman said.
Another challenge is finding mental health care, according to Yuckman. Former foster youth who age out in North Carolina are eligible for Medicaid until they reach 26, but finding providers who will accept Medicaid is hard. The chief reason is that Medicaid reimbursement rates are low.
The Youth Transitions report notes the increase in the percentages of children who entered foster care for reasons of “neglect.” In 2021, 73 percent of children in North Carolina who entered foster care received their placement for “neglect.” That figure is up from 62 percent in 2006.
Neglect is often closely related to poverty. With the right support and resources, a family might be able to stay together. For those transitioning from foster placements to youth adulthood, lack of family support hampers their transition to independent adult living.
A strong connection exists between foster care and homelessness. On average, one in four young people in foster care will become homeless within four years of exiting the system. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, each year approximately 550,000 youth without parents or guardians and young adults up to age 24 experience a homelessness episode of longer than one week. More than half are under the age of 18.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, each year approximately 550,000 youth without parents or guardians and young adults up to age 24 experience a homelessness episode of longer than one week. More than half are under the age of 18.
Sadly, the child welfare system is sometimes described as a highway to homelessness. An estimated 20 percent of young adults who are in care become homeless the moment they are emancipated at the age of 18. Nationwide, 50 percent of the homeless population spent time in foster care.
We simply must do a better job of helping children in foster care transition to an adult world so they can become self-supporting and obtain the health care and housing that they need.
Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
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