Columnist Sandy Thompson: Extend foster care services to age 21

Sandy Thompson

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2001 | 11:41 a.m.

Sandy Thompson is vice president/associate editor of the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-4025 or e-mail at thompson@lasvegassun.com

WHAT DOES the future hold for foster children after they leave the system?

Not much, according to a study by the UNLV School of Social Work, in collaboration with the Division of Child and Family Services.

"The outcomes are appalling," says Thom Reilly, a social work professor who conducted a survey of 100 youths after they aged out of the system at 18.

"Aging out of the system" is a sanitized, bureaucratic term. In reality -- and Reilly's study certainly bears this out -- many of these kids are being dumped into society without the necessary skills or wherewithal to become productive citizens.

Reilly, one of the architects of a new, integrated child welfare system that will be considered by the Legislature this session, had difficulty locating former foster youths because of their situations. Many are homeless or move from place to place.

His study results are based on interviews with 100 youths he did find who had been out of the system for a minimum of six months. Their average age was 20. The mean age at entering the foster care system was 9.3, and the average number of years in foster care was 8.3. More than half of those interviewed had five or more placements. The highest number of placements was 50.

Among the results:

* 41 percent did not have enough money to cover basic living expenses; 60 percent made less than $10,000 in 1999.

* 50 percent left foster care without a high school diploma. At the time of the survey interviews, the number of young adults obtaining the diploma rose to 69 percent, with 30 percent saying they are attending or had attended college.

* 29 percent were living with a spouse or partner; 24 percent with friends; 7 percent were incarcerated; 7 percent were living with their birth parents; 3 percent were with their former foster parents. Reilly says a "startling" 36 percent said there had been times when they did not have a place to live and were on the streets or in a homeless shelter.

* 30 percent had serious health problems since leaving care; 32 percent needed health care but could not obtain it; 55 percent had no health insurance.

* 38 percent had children.

* 45 percent had trouble with the law; 41 percent spent time in jail.

Reilly says most of those surveyed received training in independent living, but there was little concrete assistance for independence or services after they turned 18.

Multiple foster care placements can be linked to several negative circumstances, including an increased likelihood of having legal trouble, being homeless, higher rates of pregnancy and more violence in a dating relationship.

The Legislature is expected to consider a bill to raise the age of majority for foster care children to 21. Reilly recommends extending Medicaid coverage to 21. That need became painfully evident when Reilly learned that one foster youth had died shortly after leaving the system. The boy was diabetic and no longer could obtain his medicine because he had no insurance and couldn't afford to pay for it. It cost him his life.

Reilly also recommends setting aside funds for room and board for ages 18 to 21, specialized case management services and specific after-care services. All youths should be given portfolios with important documents such as health records, Social Security cards and a list of resources.

In Clark County, about 100 youths age out of the system each year.

"As a community, we end up paying dearly for the failure to ensure that these youths are capable of making the difficult transition to life in the community," Reilly says.

These kids deserve a better chance. *

Update: For those of you who followed last week's column about my daughter and the stray dog she befriended, there is sad news to report. The animal shelter said it would keep the dog for a while and try to adopt it out. They lied. They euthanized the dog the next day.