On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System In Stock Now

Each year, as many as 25,000 teenagers age out of foster care, usually when they turn eighteen. For most of their lives, a government agency has made every important decision for them. Suddenly they are entirely alone, with no one to count on. What does it mean to be eighteen and on your own, without the family support and personal connections that most young people rely on? For many youth raised in foster care, it means largely unhappy endings, including homelessness, unemployment, dead-end jobs, loneliness, and despair. This book tells the compelling stories of ten young people whose lives are full of promise, but who face economic and social barriers stemming from the disruptions of foster care.