No Home Sweet Home
Half of older teens who left foster care aged out instead of being reunited or connected with a family.
This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief, which utilizes the most comprehensive dataset ever collected across all 50 states, fills in key details about the lives of young people who have experienced foster care. In no uncertain terms, the data describe how youth in foster care are falling behind their general population peers and on track to face higher levels of joblessness and homelessness as adults. With these challenges clear, Casey urges leaders to take action — to collect better data, support better practices and develop better policies — so that youth in care can get the support they need, transition to adulthood and thrive.
Half of older teens who left foster care aged out instead of being reunited or connected with a family.
One out of every four kids in America’s foster care system is at least 14 years old.
Among older kids in foster care — a population that begins at age 14 — 44% of youth are at least 17 years old.
One-third of young people experienced a group home or institutional placement during their most recent stay in foster care.
African American youth are more likely than their white counterparts to experience three or more placements in foster care.
Young people who experience foster care lag behind their general population peers when it comes to graduating high school or getting a job. Targeted transition services can help. Yet, among all foster youth who participated in a federally funded transition service in 2015, just 23% received education support or employment assistance.
