EXTENDING FOSTER CARE LIMITS FOR YOUTH

WHEREAS, foster care is funded through a combination of local, state and federal dollars. Title IV-E is one of the largest and is the only designated funding stream for the child welfare system; and

WHEREAS, states only can receive Title IV-E placement reimbursement for youth up until age 18; and

WHEREAS, as of 2005, there were more than 500,000 children in the foster care system and  about 20 percent, or a little more than 100,000, are aged 16 years and older and these older youth tend to live in group homes or institutions, rather than traditional family settings, and are less likely than their younger counterparts to be reunited with their biological families. This group of youth is likely to age out of foster care; and

WHEREAS, one the most significant studies on outcomes for children aging out is the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth.  It provides important insight on the successes and failures of the foster care system serving these youth; and

WHEREAS, foster youth aging out are not faring as well as their non- foster youth peers, youth that were no longer in care at age 19 and were employed generally earned less than $10,000 per year, half of the females in the study reported having had at least one pregnancy by the age of 19, as compared to 20 percent of females in a nationally representative study of youth.  Males were more likely to have had run-ins with the law, and 28 percent of the sample reported having been arrested, 14 percent of the youth reported experiencing homelessness since leaving care; and

WHEREAS, on average, the general youth population does not achieve the common benchmarks of independence until age 25 and the majority of foster youth are not ready for independence at age 18; and

WHEREAS, this study found more positive results for foster youth still in care at age 19 as compared to those youth who were on their own at age 18; and

WHEREAS, this suggests that extending foster care to older youth would positively affect the foster care population, allow them greater access to services and help them maintain more stable employment and housing; and

WHEREAS, the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act (S.1512) would allow states to expand their definition of child under Sections 475 and 477 of the Social Security Act by allowing the state to re-define the age of adulthood from age 18 to as high as age 21; and

WHEREAS, this bill would provide continued federal funding through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act for foster care services to children aged 18 to 21 and states would have discretion in determining the upper age limit of youth qualifying for foster care services; and

WHEREAS, with this age extension these youth in extended care would continue to be eligible for necessary healthcare through continued Medicaid eligibility:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers advocate for the passage of the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act (S.1512); and

RESOLVED, that American Federation of Teachers make an effort to educate its membership on the merits of the legislation and the importance of its passage.