THE CHALLENGE: Children who spend time in the foster youth system in the United States face a troubling future, and those who age out of the system have even worse outcomes. In 2010, the U.S. government assumed the responsibility for parenting over 400,000 children across the country. While the number of foster youth in the system has declined 22 percent since 2000, older youth age 16 to 20 represent an increasing percentage of the foster care population. While most youth exit foster care to a permanent home—most often through reunification with their biological parents or adoption—older youth are more likely to remain in care longer, and 30,000 youth per year age out of the foster care system at age 18 or 21.
Youth often age out of the foster care system without a meaningful connection to an adult. They also have low educational attainment levels, little if any job experience, and no place to live. It is not surprising that as a consequence, one quarter spend time in jail, and over 50 percent spend time in a homeless shelter. From an educational perspective, foster youth are less likely to graduate high school than the general population, and while between 40 and 50 percent complete some postsecondary coursework, fewer than 11 percent obtain a degree. In addition, during the four years after leaving foster care, more than half of youth who transitioned out of the system had no earnings; those with earnings averaged an income of $7,500 per year.
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE: Investment in critical skills and supports, accompanied by improved system coordination and alignment, can help improve outcomes for youth who transition out of care.
Foster youth often lack critical skills and supports necessary to overcome the challenges they face when they leave care. Programs that will improve transition-age youth (TAY) college and career readiness and provide stronger caregivers for older foster youth will significantly contribute to improved self-sufficiency of TAY. In addition, special attention is warranted in working with two particularly vulnerable sub-populations who especially struggle upon transition out of foster care: 1) pregnant and parenting foster youth and 2) crossover youth who are involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Postponing pregnancies and supporting parenting teens, whose children often enter foster care themselves, will contribute to improved outcomes for these teen mothers and can reduce the number of foster youth in future generations. Improving outcomes for crossover youth presents an opportunity to reach a high need group and reduce costs to society, as this population uses the greatest amount of government services of all former foster youth.
The well-being of youth in foster care also depends on the complex interaction of multiple systems and stakeholders. The foster care system and the courts are responsible for the child’s placement and basic services, but other systems and stakeholders such as biological and foster families, the health system, and the department of education are also critical to a child’s long term well-being. However, these systems and stakeholders are often very disconnected and lack communication or coordination. Greater alignment and coordination are needed to improve youth outcomes.
Los Angeles County and New York City hold high potential for strategic philanthropy; both locations have large foster youth populations, supportive stakeholder communities, and positive policy environments. With 60,000 youth in foster care, California has the largest foster youth population. The state accounts for 15 percent of the nation’s youth aging out of care each year (5,000 youth), of which 1,600 to 2,000 youth live in Los Angeles County. New York State has the second largest population of foster youth in the country, with 28,000 youth in care. Approximately 1,500 youth age out of care each year in New York, two-thirds of which are in New York City. In both Los Angeles County and New York City, momentum for reform exists among key public sector and nonprofit leaders to improve outcomes for foster youth, and strong philanthropic funding partners are present. These two geographies present unique opportunities to improve outcomes for a large number of youth and set an example for improving TAY outcomes for the rest of the nation.
THE HILTON FOUNDATION’S ROLE: The Hilton Foundation will work to impact the lives of thousands of children by supporting older foster youth transitioning out of care to achieve self sufficiency and live healthy and productive lives.
The Foundation seeks to work with public, nonprofit, and private sector partners to ensure that youth transitioning out of foster care in Los Angeles County and New York City are equipped with the range of tools, resources, and supports necessary to succeed living independently. In addition to grantmaking to nonprofit organizations, the Foundation will use other philanthropic tools such as convening, research, and advocacy to advance efforts to improve outcomes for foster youth.