All children — and especially older children in foster care — need and deserve a loving family with no expiration date. Yet, in the United States, about 20,000 youth exit foster care and are left to fend for themselves each year.
This scenario — leaving foster care without achieving permanence — carries lifelong consequences. Youth who age out of foster care face are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and more likely to experience hardships such as homelessness, joblessness, early parenthood and substance use.