Each year, between 18,000 and 20,000 children are emancipated from foster care on reaching age 18 and find themselves suddenly having to fend for themselves with no support from the state or county (Facts, 2004; Life, 1998). They have no home, no job, and no health care. They are often ill-prepared for life on their own, since foster care is not conducive to providing these skills and they receive no special training in independent living. Some may still have a connection with their foster parents, but many do not. A 1986 study of 55 foster youth in the San Francisco area 10 years after they had been emancipated showed that they were often struggling with ill health, poor education, severe housing problems, substance abuse, and criminal behavior.
Other studies found that emancipated foster youth required academic remediation and demonstrated problems in areas of self-control, managing home and school learning demands, and peer and adult relationships (Life, 1998). Studies have also found these youth suffer an unusual number of undiagnosed maladies such as headaches, dental and vision problems, sleeping difficulties, weight problems, drug or alcohol abuse, sexual problems, depression, loneliness, and thoughts of suicide, but only a third of them sought treatment for these problems. Studies of the homeless in New York and Los Angeles found that 40 percent to 50 percent of them had been in foster care. Many experience extreme financial hardship. A third of the emancipated foster youth in one study admitted to doing something illegal to get money, such as stealing food or prostitution. Almost one third had been arrested, and 26 percent had spent time in jail or prison.
Youth in foster care do not get the help they need to complete their schooling, gain employment, access health care, enter continuing education, or find suitable housing (Facts, 2004). As a result they are more likely than other youth, once they leave fost...