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Each year, as many as 25,000 teenagers "age out" of foster care, usually when they turn eighteen. For years, a government agency had made every important decision for them. Suddenly, they are on their own, with no one to count on. What does it mean to be eighteen and on your own, without the family support and personal connections that most young people rely on? For many youth raised in foster care, it means largely unhappy endings, including sudden homelessness, unemployment, dead-end jobs, loneliness, and despair. On Their Own tells the compelling stories of ten young people whose lives are full of promise, but who face economic and social barriers stemming from the disruptions of foster care. This book calls for action to provide youth in foster care the same opportunities on the road to adulthood that most of our youth take for granted-access to higher education, vocational training, medical care, housing, and relationships within their communities. On Their Own is meant to serve as a clarion call not only to policymakers, but to all Americans who care about the futures of our young people.
| Foreword | ||
| Introduction : on their own in a world of unknowns | 1 | |
| 1 | A tale of three brothers : Jermaine, Jeffrey, and Lamar Williams, Brooklyn, New York | 17 |
| 2 | "I know that I'm not alone" : Holly Moffett, Boston, Massachusetts | 45 |
| 3 | "All my life, I had prayed for a family" : Alfonso Torres, Pembroke Pines, Florida | 75 |
| 4 | "I never want to sleep on the street" : Raquel Tolston, San Francisco, California | 109 |
| 5 | "If I'd been tougher" : Casey-Jack Kitos, Lawrence, Kansas | 137 |
| 6 | "I was tired of living that life" : Monica Romero, San Antonio, Texas | 159 |
| 7 | Mentally retarded, mentally ill, and on his own : Reggie Kelsey, Des Moines, Iowa | 185 |
| 8 | "There is life after abuse" : Giselle John, Brooklyn, New York | 215 |
| Conclusion : what we must do | 245 | |
| App. A | Adoption and foster care analysis and reporting system (AFCARS) report | 269 |
| App. B | Exits to emancipation, fiscal 2000 | 275 |
| App. C | State allocations for John Chafee Foster care independence program | 277 |
| App. D | Jim Casey youth opportunity initiative opportunity passport sites | 279 |
| App. E | Resources on foster care, youth transition, and development | 281 |
Anonymous
Posted November 6, 2004
As the parent of several kids who are themselves making the transition to adulthood, I know how much support they need. This book makes abundantly clear, in heartbreaking detail, how difficult it is to become a responsible and self-sufficient adult if you don't have family support. The success stories are truly inspiring. The book puts human faces on a policy issue that has gotten too little attention. President Carter's foreword gives me hope that this issue will move on to the public agenda.
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Posted October 9, 2004
Finally these kids are getting some attention. Any one with a heart will cry as they read these stories of struggle abuse and disappoinment.
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Overview
Each year, as many as 25,000 teenagers "age out" of foster care, usually when they turn eighteen. For years, a government agency had made every important decision for them. Suddenly, they are on their own, with no one to count on. What does it mean to be eighteen and on your own, without the family support and personal connections that most young people rely on? For many youth raised in foster care, it means largely unhappy endings, including sudden homelessness, unemployment, dead-end jobs, loneliness, and ...