Extending foster care beyond the age of 19 would be a good investment, in both human and financial terms. Leaving home presents challenges for anyone 鈥� applying for post-secondary education, getting a job, finding a place to live. For many, the path to independence is a phased process, with support coming from home and family for several years.
For youth leaving foster care, the transition is abrupt. At the age of 19, they lose their social workers and government support for housing and expenses. They are, as University of Victoria professor Deborah Rutman puts it, 鈥渃ast adrift.鈥�
Rutman, Carol Hubberstey and Sharon Hume of UVic鈥檚 School of Social Work did a study that shows transitional support for those aging out of the foster-care system can make a significant difference.
鈥淔or youth in the general population, the transition to adulthood is gradual and extended,鈥� the researchers say in the summary of their report entitled Avoiding the Precipice. 鈥淔or example, Statistics sa国际传媒 reported in 2011 that more than 50 per cent of young people age 20 to 24 lived with their parent(s), and the majority of sa国际传媒 young adults continue to receive parental support related to education and daily living.
鈥淏y contrast, youth who age out of government care have no safety net; they are abruptly cut off at the age of majority from the system that had provided care and support to them.鈥�
Rutman and her team interviewed 21 young people connected with the Link program run by Aunt Leah鈥檚 Place, a New Westminster non-profit agency that helps youth leaving foster care. They also interviewed 22 former foster children who tried to navigate a maze of government services on their own. In both groups, most had not completed high school, lived in deep poverty, struggled to find employment and housing, and wrestled with mental health and addiction issues.
But those served by Link fared better, the research showed. The majority lived in some form of market housing, while more in the other group were living in shelters, supportive housing or subsidized housing for youth.
Rutman said about 80 per cent of young people moving out of the family home still receive support such as tuition, living expenses and encouragement.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the general nurturing that youth from care don鈥檛 have, or have as readily,鈥� she said.
鈥淵ou have to remember they have experienced or witnessed some fairly significant experiences that for many of them have led to serious trauma. They will have to be dealing with those effects for many years. Not only do we expect them to do more, but we are expecting it from people who are not prepared for the adult world.鈥�
The Ministry of Child and Family Development offers an array of adult services when youth leave foster care, but it means tangling with a confusing system, a challenge to most people and a near-impossibility for vulnerable youth.
What is needed is an overarching philosophy, legislative change that will provide continuity and the kind of support young people not in care have as a matter of course, said Hubberstey.
About 700 youths age out of foster care each year. About 45 per cent will be on the streets within three years. They are prone to becoming victimized, addicted and involved in criminal activity, imposing heavy costs on the public purse. More support in early adult years can do much to improve their prospects.
The government cannot replace the stable homes these youths never had, but it can do more to help them transition to self-reliance. Steering foster kids away from crime, addiction and homelessness will save costly remedial measures in the future, but it should be about saving people, not saving money.
