User:Jolvera88/sandbox

 Outcomes for Traditional Age Youth 

Although foster care was intended to be a temporary solution, the challenges and struggles that many youth face when they transition out can have a permanent and long-lasting impact on adolescents ability to live independently and succeed in the real world. Foster care youth are more likely to experience a lack of social support before they enter the system and are more likely to come from low income households with higher rates of physical and verbal abuse (Lindquist & Santavirts, 2014). Their experiences therefore shape their journey throughout the foster care system and well into adulthood. When foster youth leave the system, they are more likely to face disadvantages and challenges when compared to their peers in the general population (Gypen et al., 2017).

Once transitional foster care youth leave the system, they become fully independent and face barriers in areas such as education. Foster care youth are less likely to graduate from high school than their peers in the general population (Gypen et al., 2017). Those who are able to attain a high school diploma often find struggles when it comes to higher education. Foster care youth who enroll in college are twice as likely to drop out in their first year compared to their peers in the general population (Gypen et al., 2017). They are also less likely to complete 2-year degrees, and those who do make it to a 4-year university are more likely to drop out after 2 years (Gypen et al., 2017). This can then impact their ability to find employment as they are less likely to find stable employment once they exit the foster care system (Gypen et al., 2017). Although around 80% of former foster youth do find employment within 2 years of leaving the system, most of these jobs are part time and often require little skill or minimal pay (Dworsky, 2005). This then impacts their earnings, as they are more likely to earn less than non-foster care youth, and are more likely to live in poverty due to the low earnings (Gypen et al., 2017). When it comes to housing, the low earnings and lack of support then makes foster care youth more likely to experience unstable housing situations and, in some cases, homelessness. Around 28% of former foster care youth can secure their own place, while around .3% end up homeless, and most of the transitional youth end up in some sort of supported household (i.e. extended relative, foster parent, friend) (Gypen et al., 2017).

Mental health issues, substance abuse and alcohol abuse issues are also challenges that many transitional age youth face once they exit the foster care system. Foster care alumni are more likely to come from a past of neglect and/or physical/verbal abuse. Therefore, they are more likely to suffer from mental health issues such as disruptive disorders, depression, and PTSD (Gypen et al., 2017). Up to 63% of former foster care youth are likely to qualify for some sort of psychiatric disorder at some point in their lifetime (Gypen et al., 2017). In addition, foster care youth, particularly men, are more likely to suffer from substance abuse and mental health issues, and their chances of suffering from these issues increase as they get older (Gypen et al., 2017).

Transitional age youth face various challenges once they leave the foster care system can have an altering impact on their road to living independently and striving for success. They are more likely to face barriers in the educational, employment, and housing institutions, and are also more likely to suffer from mental health and substance abuse issues once they exit.