Foster Care Challenges

Every year more that 20,000 children will “age out” of foster care. These youth face extreme obstacles including the expectation that they are now adults and able to self-manage out in the world. Many of us are lucky enough to be raised by supportive parents who we can turn to long after the age of 18 for encouragement, reassurance and direction in our lives. The majority of these children have not finished high school and are unemployed. How can we expect them to go out into the world without the tools they need to succeed? These kids have been dealt a rough hand in life and many times they have no type of family connections or even reliable friends. They end up facing challenges that the majority of youth with families will never know. They have a higher risk of ending up on public assistance, homeless, as young parents or incarcerated. Things don’t have to be this way. Like most youth, these kids have aspirations,
Someone who can mentor them to stay engaged in school, prepare them for the workforce or for college, help then with basic life skills they need like filling out job applications and going grocery shopping. Some kids are eager to get out of foster care because they feel alone and they would rather take their chance out in the world so it is important to emphasize the vitality of every adult connection that they make leading up to the time that they make that decision. A mentoring service would be such help for these kids who need positive interaction with role models on a constant basis to help give them the support they need to succeed. They need to feel as if someone cares and is investing in their future. These youth deserve the opportunity to succeed in life and become productive members of our society. Helping kids in foster care is not only rewarding but also