Working to Remove Barriers for Youth in Foster Care
Each year, approximately 20,000 youth will age out of the foster care system when they turn 18 or 21, or when they finish high school depending upon the state in which they live. These young people are at increased risk of poor educational outcomes, experiencing homelessness, and being unemployed.
“One of the worst possible outcomes for teenagers and young adults is to age out of foster care without a permanent family,” says Covenant House President & CEO Kevin Ryan. “Most are forced to fend for themselves, at age 18 or 21 depending on state law. But how many people that age are able to find living wage work, afford housing, food and other necessities?”
Ryan and Covenant House are calling for support for the Fostering Post Secondary Success for Foster and Homeless Youth Act of 2021, a bipartisan bill that will remove barriers to college enrollment, affordability, and completion for young people experiencing homelessness and youth involved with foster care.
“We will never end youth homelessness until we end the child-welfare-to-homelessness pipeline,” says Ryan. “This bill will open more doors of opportunity and more fair access to education.”
The proposed bill requires colleges and universities to improve outreach, resources, and policies for young people in unstable living conditions and foster youth. It will also streamline the FAFSA and eligibility process for financial aid, providing housing options between terms, and designating a single point of contact to help provide valuable services for these vulnerable students.
It also requires the U.S. Department of Education to help resolve questions about a student’s independence and ensure its programs identify, recruit and prepare youth experiencing homelessness and students in foster care for college.
“Over 30 percent of the young people who come to Covenant House were involved in the foster care system prior to coming to us,” said Ryan. “They are smart, amazingly resilient, and driven. But the foster care system is broken. This bill will be a step towards empowering more young people to pursue their education and the great promise of their lives.”
Learn more about the challenges in the foster care system and the Covenant House response by visiting https://www.covenanthouse.org/homeless-teen-issues/foster-care.
