Aging out of foster care in a pandemic
Written by Camryn Garza Oct. 8, 2020
As other high school seniors across the country apply for college, foster youth must decide whether they will stay in the system or struggle alone to enter adulthood during the pandemic.
“I grew up to a point where I didn’t plan my future,” said Enrique Thomson, a former foster youth from the Houston area. “Most of the time, you just get stuck in this space where you’re in foster care and that’s it. I didn’t have this master plan.”
As of August, 27,345 Texas children lived in foster care or other substitute care facilities, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Approximately 1,000 of these children are set to age out of the system in the coming year, each facing the delicate balance between personal responsibility and reliance on the system. Once children turn 18 they are able to decide if they want to be completely on their own, or stay within the foster system until they are 21. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic this decision becomes even more challenging.
Once a child turns 18 if they choose to stay in the system, they have the option of either remaining under the care of a foster family or living independently with occasional supervision from their caseworker.
However, for those who are just now deciding whether or not to stay in the system, the choice is much less certain.
“With Covid-19, I’ve seen that a lot of the children getting ready to age out are really uncertain about their future more so than usual,” said JB Bobbitt, a Houston child welfare lawyer.
In the months nearing the end of the fall semester, foster kids are preparing for life after the system. Riddled with newfound responsibility, foster youth nearing the end of their care with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spend this time weighing the realities of independence for the first time.
To combat some of the uncertainties linked to adulthood, such as living expenses, tuition and medical insurance, the state of Texas allows individuals to remain in an extended foster care program under the Fostering Connections Act until they are 21 years old. However, the reality of the situation is much more complicated.
“The kids get promised a lot of stuff when they are aging out of care, but the reality is very different,” Bobbitt said.
In Texas, foster youth set to age out of the system are promised college and tuition fee waivers so long as they attend a state-supported college or university, according to DFPS. However, finding ways to succeed in adult life is much more than figuring out ways to pay for college.
“The tuition and fee waivers are like a shiny oasis but by the time the kid gets there they’ve got so many other problems like how are they going to eat, how are they going to buy their books,” Bobbitt said. “How are they going to socialize in an environment where every other kid that’s in that university has matriculated from a traditional home environment?”
Through the system, older foster youth are provided with life skills assessments and training to learn about things like job readiness, financial management and transportation. Yet, children who may not even understand the need yet for such life lessons, have to take on the added responsibility of committing time to the training, according to Bobbitt.
In some cases, college is not a feasible option, and instead former foster youth participating in the extended care program choose to work. Despite the programs set in place to kickstart the adult lives of foster youth, challenges still arise no matter how many resources are available.
“School didn’t work out in the first half, so I’m just going to wait until next semester and then I’ll try again,” said Daniel Corona, a current foster youth in the extended care program. “There were two options to either do extended care, or try to live on my own, but being in foster care all my life I wasn’t ready to be on my own.”
However, despite not being ready for complete independence furthering time in the foster care system is not as bleak as it may seem.
“I actually like the foster care system,” Corona said. “I think it helped me grow, no matter what people think.”
