Foster kids need help after they leave state custody
NASHVILLE (AP) — Foster children who get too old for state custody need continuing support as they make the transition to adulthood, a goal the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth is moving to address.
Children can move out of foster homes once they reach age 18, but they still need those family connections to navigate the difficult transition to college or work, said commission director Linda O’Neal.
“Even the ones who go to college, they can’t stay in the dorms during the breaks. Some of them ending up sleeping in their cars,” she said. “They need somebody to call if they have a flat tire. They need a place to go for Thanksgiving dinner.”
The commission is sponsoring the Children’s Caucus later this month to bring together a network of groups to help children through this transition period.
Each year about 800 teenagers get too old to stay in the state’s custody and move out into the world, O’Neal said. “These are some of the most vulnerable youth, struggling to move into successful adulthood without the family support most of us take for granted,” she said.
Part of the network involved in the Children’s Caucus is the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a national effort with a local affiliation at Vanderbilt University.
Researchers there are studying the approaches that are most successful in helping kids make the transition.
Many of the kids who move out of foster care may end up in jail or on the streets, said Stacy Schumaker, a 21-year-old senior at Belmont University in Nashville, a ward of the state for 16 years and member of the Tennessee Youth Advisory Council.
“There are things the community needs to do,” she said. “Without caring foster homes there’s not much the DCS (state Department of Children’s Services) can do.”
Schumaker said she was taken in by a loving and supporting foster family when she was 9 years old. “A connection to a strong family is very important,” she said.
Sidney Bynum, a former foster child, is now a 21-year-old student at Volunteer State Community College. She said being out on their own can be very difficult at first for foster children.
“When I turned 18 I was taking care of my brother, working and trying to go to school,” she said. “We need to give these people more support.”
O’Neal said the commission hopes to pool the resources of community and business groups as well as government agencies to create a support system.
“We as a society need to provide stronger community supports like job skills and continued learning opportunities, counseling and financial assistance to improve the odds these young people will make it and become responsible, productive adults,” she said.
The Children’s Caucus will convene June 16 in Nashville.
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On the Net:
Tennessee Commissioner on Children and Youth: www.state.tn.us/tccy