One of the things that constantly nags at the back of my brain, is the worry of what happens to the children who never get adopted, and eventually age out of the foster care system, or get kicked out of their orphanage.

It is no secret that in many countries, once children reach the age of 14 or so and are considered "un-adoptable" and leave the orphanages, they are at a huge risk for sexual exploitation, child labor and other dangers. Young girls are at a high risk of becoming pregnant and creating more children that will not have parents who can care for them.

Kids leaving orphanages with little or no education, no family and no support have very few options open to them.

In the United States, it may not seem like there are as many dangers to the 18 year olds that age out of the foster care system, however life is not easy for these kids either.

On Yahoo News this morning there is an article titled "Many States Cut Off Foster Youth at 18". The article discusses how most 18 year olds continue to either live at home, or go off to college with the financial and emotional support of their parents, however many foster kids are cut off from all support at age 18 and are expected to function and survive on their own as adults at that point.

The article also discusses how in the states, like Georgia, where support can continue on past the age of 18 for foster children, many of the teens decide to walk away anyway, because they are tired of the things they have experienced in the foster system or see it is a sort of "scarlet letter" to continue getting support from the foster care system past the age of 18.

Not surprisingly, teens who are cut off from support at age 18, who are legally adults but in many ways still children, are at risk for ending up in jail or on the streets.

The article talks about the fact that foster teens are often viewed as the "throw-aways" of society, often even by judges and lawyers that are supposed to be advocating for them.

There are some people trying to better the situation, however so far, support is extremely thin. From the article:

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has introduced federal legislation that would make it easier for states to extend benefits to people up to 21 years old, and would provide some matching money from the federal government. But her legislation, introduced in May, has so far attracted just one other co-sponsor.

I don't know what the answer is to these problems, but I do know that teenagers and young adults are the future of our country, not social throw-aways. I know that helping them succeed is in the best interest of everybody, and the morally right thing to do. I know that as parents line up and wait to adopt healthy babies, that we must also care and take action for the kids who wait, and will never be adopted. My heart is often heavy with thoughts of the kids left behind.

Foster Care Adoption Blog

Foster Adoption Blog