Report Urges Help for Teens After Foster Care

Teenagers who leave the foster care system at age 18 are doing poorly because of a lack of transitional living programs, according to a grand jury report released Wednesday.

The teenagers have to fend for themselves with no family for financial or emotional support, said James Nolan, a grand juror. About 200 teenagers leave the system each year as they come of age.

A transitional living program is needed to help prevent many teenagers who are “aging out” of the system from “aging into” homelessness, pregnancy and unemployment, the report said.

The six-month study relied on national and state studies on foster care and interviews with 38 former county foster children. It found that within 12 to 18 months, half of the youths were unemployed, more than a third had not finished high school and nearly half had children as single parents.

“There are programs that help these teens once they are emancipated, but they’re few and far between,” Nolan said.

The study also found that housing for transitional youths is “almost nonexistent.” Several county agencies, private group homes and community organizations have responsibility for foster care, yet “no one person or agency” is ensuring that the efforts are coordinated.

To help correct the situation, the grand jury recommended that county supervisors and the Social Services Agency give the problem the highest priority and also create a position of county director for transitional housing.