Don't Leave Older Foster Kids Behind
Every year, 20,000 kids in foster care are left to care for themselves because they are too old and no longer qualify for placement with foster families.
Most 18-year-olds haven't yet developed strong life skills to enable them to live on their own, and kids coming out of foster care are usually even less prepared for independent living.
Over one-third of these kids never finish high school and many don't have jobs. Their rate of arrest, health problems, and welfare dependency are far higher than the population as a whole - as is their rate of homelessness.
We must bring broader attention to faults within the foster care system - and make sure that no kids fall through the cracks just because they've celebrated their eighteenth birthday.
Help kids who are too old for the system, yet still too young to take care of themselves. Ask Congress to support programs for young adults aging out of foster care so they can transition successfully into adult life.
Dear [Representative],
I'm writing to ask you to support programs for young adults aging out of foster care.
These young adults still need the chance to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to transition from being helpless children to becoming independent adults.
With little help for former foster care children who have aged out of the system, it's no surprise that they often wind up on the streets or in jail.
[Your comments here.]
Let's help these young adults cross an important bridge to self-sufficiency and independence. Let's give them the chance to become successful, independent adults.
Sincerely,
[Your name here.]
