Life after foster care: when foster kids turn 18, they often face great difficulties finding housing, health coverage, transportation, higher education, jobs, opening bank accounts and establishing credit.

In some ways, Risa Bejarano was a typical college sophomore. She worried about finding a place to live, getting a car and balancing school and work--all the things that trouble most college students.

But in other ways, Risa was different. Separated from her brothers and sisters at age 9 because of abuse, Risa grew up in a dozen foster homes. Nevertheless, she was the first member of her family to graduate from high school, and she did so with honors. She earned several scholarships for college.

Even so, Risa encountered difficulties that many former foster youth face: renting an apartment with no parent to co-sign a lease; finding money for a security deposit; getting to work and school in Los Angeles without a car. With no family to fall back on, Risa had to make it alone.

After a year of college, Risa had no place to live during the summer of 2004. Like many college students, she had a part-time job, but needed a way to get there. She spent her savings on a car, which left no money for a security deposit.

On June 5, 2004, Risa Bejarano was found murdered, shot to death next to the car that was her home.

THE CHALLENGE

A half million children and youths are in foster care. Most will reunite with their biological families; some will be adopted or find permanent guardians. About 20,000 youths, deemed legal adults at age 18, will emancipate or "age out" of the system each year.

These youngsters face daunting challenges. Four years after leaving foster care, 46 percent have not finished high school, 25 percent have been homeless, 42 percent have become parents and fewer than 20 percent are completely self-supporting.

Most kids at 18 have community and family supports they take for granted. They have a relative who can lend them money or give them a place to live. They have a parent who can cover them on health and car insurance policies or co-sign loans. They may have teachers or friends who offer guidance and emotional support.

Many foster youths lack these supports and relationships. Frequent moves among foster homes disrupt friendships, school and community ties. Constantly changing circumstances and lack of positive relationships with caring adults lead to feelings of abandonment and loss of control, as well as hostile, "acting out" behavior. As a result, foster kids are likely to have special physical and mental health needs.

State and federal policymakers are responding to a growing body of research that indicates youths leaving foster care are among the country's most vulnerable young people. In 1999, Congress enacted the John C. Chaffee Foster Care Independence Program, which doubles funding to states to create and expand independent living services to former foster youths up to age 21.

For example, Iowa now begins planning for educational and other independent living needs before youths leave care.

"It is important to make services to foster care youth seamless" says Representative Dave Heaton. "We passed legislation that requires, beginning at age 16, the county to be involved in the individual education plans of kids about to emancipate. That way, the county knows what services are needed and are planning to provide them."

The Chaffee act also allows states to extend Medicaid to former foster care youths until they reach 21. A few states, including Arizona, have exercised this option. Former Arizona Senator Ruth Solomon has been a leader in state foster care policy for the past decade. "Stable health care is a critical piece of fostering self-sufficiency. We want to encourage kids to pursue higher education and get job training," sire says, "but health care is a critical piece of that." Unfortunately, even in states where Medicaid benefits are available, emancipated young people report that they are unaware of them and have difficulty knowing precisely how to go about receiving these services.

THE SENSE OF MAKING CENTS

According to a recent report, "Connected by 25: A Plan for Investing in Successful Futures for Foster Youth," the key to overcoming the challenges faced by foster youth is to improve their chances of economic success.

It has been understood for some time that the lack of resources makes this population particularly vulnerable to economic failure. What has not been as clearly articulated is the relationship between poverty and the other challenges faced by young adults leaving foster care. This economics-driven theory of change has a number of critical components, all of which have policy implications.

Educational Attainment: Research shows that if foster kids don't complete high school before they leave care, they are unlikely to do so afterward. Research also shows only 1 percent to 5 percent of foster youths graduate from college. Many could benefit from tutoring, mentoring, career counseling, college prep courses, SAT coaching and the like.

Likewise, supports that make college tuition more affordable--such as tuition waivers, matched savings accounts and assistance with hooks and housing expenses--also contribute to the likelihood of educational success, and ultimately, economic self-sufficiency.

"Children don't do this by themselves" says Washington Representative Ruth Kagi, "they do it with help. Mentors are important, just like parents. In Washington we provide high school mentoring, assistance with college applications and mentoring support once they're in college. Helping foster children graduate is absolutely critical to their success."

Access to Job Opportunities: A growing body of research shows that foster youths who have job skills and employment experience while in state care are substantially more likely to graduate from high school and continue working after emancipation. Without these skills, young people experience financial hardship that may lead to crime or dependence on welfare. Programs that connect teenagers with jobs and instill a work ethic, combined with supports that make it easier to find and keep jobs, are critical to future economic success.

Financial Literacy: More than two-thirds of high school seniors lack a basic understanding of money management, credit and savings, according to a 2002 survey by the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

Foster youths often receive some basic financial education as a part of preparation for independent living. There is some evidence to suggest, however, that coursework without hands-on experience is of limited value. As a result, programs such as the Opportunity Passport[TM] that include daily money management through debit, savings or individual development accounts may prove more effective in teaching critical financial management skills.

In addition, rewarding positive financial behavior, such as matching savings deposits, helps to build assets. These programs enable young people to purchase important items, experience a sense of self-sufficiency and feel hope about their future.

LISTENING TO FOSTER YOUTH

Federal legislation requires that kids be involved in their own case planning, as well as the planning and development of independent living programs. In addition, many states have advisory councils that make recommendations to independent living coordinators, legislators and other policymakers.

The extent to which young people are involved in policy planning and foster care reform varies from state to state. California, the state with the highest foster care population, is home to the California Youth Connection (CYC), one of the most well-developed and active youth advisory groups in the country.

On the local level, several cities rely on the counsel of young people, including former and current foster youths, to make policy recommendations. Private foundations and advocacy organizations strongly encourage the creation of youth advisory boards.

The former foster care kids profiled on these pages have very positive feelings about their role as policy advisers and strong opinions about improving foster care. Each expressed frustration with his or her inability to exert greater control over their own lives. They felt cheated by a system that continually breaks connections rather than builds them. They blamed caseworkers for not telling them about available independent living services.

"No 18-year-old is prepared for independence, whether they grew up in foster care or the most stable of families," says California Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, author of foster care reform measures recently enacted in California.

"I believe we will continue to fail foster youth until we ensure that no foster youth is emancipated without a connection to a caring and committed adult. We must nurture not only their independence, but the interdependence of individuals on which a strong society depends. If we neglect this important duty, we are setting up foster youth to fail."

Many former foster care kids, including those profiled here, echo the sentiments expressed eloquently by Jessica Lindsey: "It's important to understand that being in foster care is nothing we did, but something our parents did. The state becomes a child's family, protector and support system. And when the state fails to do any of those things, then the child is failed again. The state should step in and make children successful and productive citizens, not criminals. You shouldn't have to just survive it. Your adult life after foster care shouldn't be about just being able to function. Today is my 19th birthday, and I don't feel like a complete adult. I still need support. And if the state takes on that role then it should do everything in its power to see that something good happens to you."

RELATED ARTICLE: Helping kids live on their own.

The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is a national foundation whose mission is to help youth in foster care make successful transitions to adulthood. The centerpiece of its work is The Opportunity Passport[TM] program being piloted in Atlanta, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit and 10 Michigan counties, Hartford, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Nashville, Providence, Portland (Maine), San Antonio and San Diego. It involves three components:

* Debit Account: Many young people leaving care are unable to open a regular bank account because of a lack of income or permanent address. As a result, many rely on check cashing businesses, which charge exorbitant fees. Assisting youth in opening a debit account enables them to deposit paychecks, obtain cash, learn how to use the banking system and manage money on a daily basis.

* Individual Development Account: This matched savings account is designed to help young people learn to build material assets and reward responsible behavior. The program will match, dollar-for-dollar, every deposit the person makes into the account, up to $1,000 a year, for three years. These funds can be withdrawn and used only for specific purposes such as tuition, job training, a down payment on a car, medical expenses or other emergencies.

* Door Openers: Working with local businesses, schools and organizations, the program creates special opportunities for former foster care youth, such as help in getting and keeping a job, developing long-term help in obtaining low-interest student loans or tuition waivers, and help connecting with adults in the community who can serve as mentors.

For more information go to www.jimcaseyyouth.org

RELATED ARTICLE: The face of foster care: Jessica Lindsey.

Jessica was 14 when her mother, diagnosed with schizohrenia and paranoia, threatened to kill her. The police picked her up from high school, and within 24 hours she found herself placed in an emergency shelter where she stayed three months.

After her shelter stay, Jessica was placed in two foster homes, neither of which worked out. In both cases, there was significant conflict over Jessica's desire to stay in contact with her old friends, her boyfriend and her mother. The foster parents laid down rules. They removed long-distance service from the phone so Jessica couldn't talk to her mother or her old friends. Her boyfriend was not welcome.

Jessica acted out, and the relationship in both cases deteriorated quickly. At one point, she took a job working 30 hours a week, often coming home to find herself locked out. She missed the last months of ninth grade and hated her new school It was difficult to make education a priority.

When her case was reviewed in court, Jessica explained the problems. The judge allowed her to go back and live with her mother. After two months, she ran away. She was placed in an all-girls shelter with a peer group of 14 girls with whom she showed little interest in being friends. She was not allowed to go home for Christmas, and she ran away. After just a day, she went back. This time she was placed in a residential program, but again, Jessica acted out. She wanted the same things she had always wanted: her original high school, her old friends, contact with her mother. Sure that things were not going to get better, Jessica tried to kill herself.

After her suicide attempt, Jessica was placed in a "lock-up" or restricted facility for a year. She felt unhappy all the time, separated from her friends, her mother, her old school. She feared she would wind up in jail.

Unfortunately, her next placement did little to allay that fear. Her next move was a mistake; an administrative accident. Her circumstances did not fit the format of the program. No one could find her caseworker. Her case file was lost. Jessica was on the verge of falling through the cracks. Nearing emancipation, a judge asked her what she wanted to do. Jessica chose to go home to her mother.

A chance contact with a child welfare caseworker, however, referred Jessica to the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Jessica found out that she was entitled to a number of transitional services and supports provided by the state. She got help opening bank accounts. She saved for a down payment on a car and received tuition support to enroll at Wayne State University, where she is now a sophomore majoring in English. She plans to attend law school.

RELATED ARTICLE: The face of foster care: Sidney Bynum.

Sidney entered the foster care system as an infant, the youngest of six. Now a young woman, she looks back on 54 group homes, three foster home placements and four emergency shelters. Briefly, when she was 7, she and her siblings were reunited and placed together with the same family. Unfortunately, her foster mother died, once again forcing the six children back into the system. The children were split up, not only to different residential facilities, but to different cities, as well. Contact with three of them has been lost.

Sidney is truly a child of the foster care system. It is the only parent she has ever known, and the effects of her adolescence as a ward of the state reach deep into her psyche.

She speaks openly about her fear of getting attached to people. She finds it almost impossible to trust anyone. She remembers how difficult it was to concentrate in school when she worried each day that they "would come for her" in the middle of class and off she would go to a different placement. She attended four high schools and three home schools. She almost dropped out of school several times.

In her own words, "High school was really hard. I was at the point where I didn't want anybody to know I was in foster care. I was put down all the time because I didn't have a mother or father or brothers and sisters. It messes with you. When you get moved around and never put down roots, you're afraid all the time. And alone."

Against the odds, Sidney graduated from high school and faced the difficult challenge of young adulthood with no family other than the state system she grew up in. After graduation, she had to find an apartment with no parent to co-sign, no credit and no savings to use toward a deposit.

With the help of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, she was able to secure an apartment voucher from the state, open a checking and matched savings account and take a financial management course that has assisted her with job applications, her resume, financial aid for school and understanding credit.

Sidney is now very hopeful about her future. She is working on a two-year program at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn., and plans to transfer to Tennessee State for a bachelor's in nursing.

Finessa Ferrell tracks youth issues for NCSL.