The Urgent Need To Support Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

The transition into adulthood is a challenging season of life for all of us, but even more so for young people who have been in foster care or adopted. Past traumas leave cascading impacts, with many young people lacking the basic relationships and tools they need for a successful transition.

In Arkansas alone, roughly 200 youth age out of foster care each year. However, the journey toward aging out begins many years prior. 

Teens make up a significant percentage of the foster care population.

When thinking about teens in care, one might think it’s a fairly small group. In reality, 1 in 3 youth in care in Arkansas in FY2024 were age 14 or older. This means that one third of our foster care system was composed of young people who are on the brink of adulthood.

For many of these teens, their formative years were spent living in the foster system, navigating dozens of placements and a revolving door of relationships. Whether it be through foster homes, kinship placements, or congregate residential settings, many youth gain life skills and relationships within their placements, inpatient facilities and/or the state’s Transitional Youth Services (TYS) programming. The result is that the space for “practicing” adulthood or developing secure, healthy attachments varies greatly from the experience of non-foster peers.

The “aging out years” are filled with heavy obstacles.  

High school graduation rates for foster youth in Arkansas is 24% less than that of non-foster youth. As children and teenagers in care move on average 2-3 times per year, every new placement results in lost credits, fluctuating learning services, and loss of relationships – all which contribute to their level of educational attainment.

Additionally, lack of consistent support in the teenage years increases the likelihood of youth exiting care and entering unstable housing, whether it be living with unhealthy family members, in adult homeless shelters, detention facilities, or the streets. The long-term result is that many can become “heavy users” of the state’s social services through poverty, homelessness, and/or interaction with law enforcement.

To answer the question of many people without ties to the foster system, this is what can happen to young people who age out of care. We also know that there are hundreds of teenagers currently in the system on a similar trajectory. 

Examining Statewide Assets

A strong response to the aging out crisis is Arkansas’s DCFS is the Extended Foster Care program, which allows young adults to remain in foster care and receive financial benefits until the age of 21. Roughly 355 youth ages 18+ were enrolled in Extended Foster Care (ages 18-21) as of December 2024, with the majority receiving support through their caseworker and volunteer ‘sponsor.’ 38 of these youth were enrolled in a Supervised Independent Living (SIL) Program that provides additional housing and case management. 

DCFS has also made immense strides with kinship care, with 39.3% of all current foster care placements being with kin/fictive kin. These placements help connect young people to their healthy family members, culture, and community; therefore, providing wrap-around connection to youth as they get older and begin transitioning out of the system. 

Understanding Statewide Gaps

Arkansas is in deep need for more foster homes. The goal is 1,800, but Arkansas consistently sits around 1,300 open homes, even despite a notable and encouraging increase in recent years. For older youth, placements in a traditional foster home are unavailable due to the fact that many families are unable to take in teenagers or behavioral struggles resulting from trauma.

Additionally, many TYS coordinators struggle to find sponsors for youth in extended care if they cannot self-identify one within their circles. Many existing volunteer sponsors have a “caseload” of their own, often with 4-5 youth in extended foster care relying on them for mentorship, budgeting assistance, and life skill development. 

There is work to be done. In conversations with community providers, TYS coordinators, and youth across the state – the overarching sentiment was that young people need “more” — more sponsors, more funds while in extended care, more transportation access, more affordable housing options, more relationships – simply, more. 

However, what if there was another path?

Ultimately, when envisioning what “more” for young people in and around the foster care system could be, it is a matter of prevention rather than reaction. If we know the outcomes for a young person at 18 or 19, what happens if they receive deeper support beginning at 14 or 15? The more relationships and preventative supports provided to youth while they are in the care of their local systems, families, and communities, the less rocky the pathway to adulthood becomes when they do exit the foster care system.

Like many, we are working toward a foster care system with more foster homes, more adoptive families, more case workers, and more preventative, wrap-around support coming alongside young people, their sponsors, and their families. Arkansas is a state notably marked by community-driven efforts, a commitment to high quality of life for its people, and strong public private partnerships.  Our hope is that someday, this will result in a reality where youth aging out of foster care are met with early and strong support, simple paths to affordable housing, and reliable connections to employment and post-secondary education. We believe Arkansas can become a state where transition-aged youth truly thrive. 

We believe a brighter day is possible – together. 

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