Youth in foster care who age out before finding a forever family have additional obstacles to overcome as their state of residency no longer provides services to them through the child welfare system. Most states define adulthood as 18 years, in some circumstances the child welfare system provides allowances from 18-25 years after which the young adult must find housing, a job, educational opportunities, and take care of all their basic needs without the assistance of the state. For youth who have never had the support of family or anyone who cared about their successes or failures this task is daunting and oftentimes leads to them going at it alone without guidance or assistance. If we approach this problem using the lens of young people aging out of foster care, the most glaring indicator should be that the information is not reaching the intended audience.
Without a supportive network young adults with no experience in paying rent or budgeting may find themselves homeless at least one night in a year…whether living on the streets or “couch-surfing”. As young people leave foster care it is important that they advocate for themselves by first knowing what resources are available and how to access them. There are programs available to assist in the transition from foster care to adulthood e.g., The John H. Chafee Foster Care Program (https://youth.gov/young-homeless-parent-topics/housing), Housing for Older Youth in Care (https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/supports-older-youth.aspx), and most recently the Foster Youth to Independence Initiative (https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/fyi) spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development these are only a few of the programs available to young adults aging out of care.
Before leaving care it is important for a young adult to request and securely store their ward of the state documents especially if they intend to lease/rent a place to live. Along with these documents they should also have a government issued ID e.g. a driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, or social security card (all of which should be kept in a secure place and a copy made on an as needed basis); http://www.childwelfare.gov can provide further details on your state’s process for obtaining an ID.
For additional information on your rights see the Foster Youth Bill of Rights below
https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/foster-care-bill-of-rights.aspx#Children