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Help impact trends for youth aging out of care and help them break
the cycle of abuse. Help equip our foster youth to be
self-sufficient and productive adults and contributing citizens.
40% of the nation's homeless were in
foster care as a child.
— National
Foster Care Awareness Project/Youth Today/March 1999
58 % of the youth utilizing federally funded
youth shelters are former foster care youth.
— National
Homeless Organization/Sept. 1998
One study found that within 12-18 months of
leaving foster care:
• 27% of
the males; 10% of the females had been incarcerated
• 33% were receiving public assistance
• 37% had not finished high school
• 50% were unemployed
— National
Foster Care Awareness Project/The Casey Family Program/1996
Baltimore Study: 77% of foster teens required
a mental health referral
— National
Adolescent Information Center/May 1996
A 1998 study found that within 12-18 months
of leaving foster care:
• 55% had completed high school
• 50% were employed
• 18% had been incarcerated
• 32% were receiving public assistance
— Courtney & Piliavin/1998
According to Westat Inc., a national study
of independent living programs for emancipated foster youth, the average
child is rarely completely independent before the age of 25.
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PUBLIC AWARENESS
CAMPAIGN
When
I Get Home:
Bring a teenager into your family
Thousands of kids don't have permanent homes
because they are victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment. Some of
these kids will be adopted into loving homes. Unfortunately,
hundreds will not. So, what happens to the kids who never get
adopted? Imagine being a teenager without a permanent home. Never
having your own room, close friends, a place to hangout, a place
to study, the courage to dream, or even someone to make you feel
loved.
And now . . . imagine that teenager as an adult.
You can help these teens by opening your heart and your home to
them as a mentor, foster parent, or an adoptive parent. Thousands
of teenagers need your help to be better adults. Pick up the phone
or go to the Internet to learn how.
View the :30 second television spot
View the :60 second
television spot
- - -
Youth Aging Out of Care
Hundreds of children are the victims of child abuse each year.
Approximately 20% of these children are ages 13 to 17. An average of
20 - 25% of the children who come into care become available for
adoption after termination of parental rights. Some of these
children are fortunate enough to be adopted or to live in a stable
foster home. Others experience years of unstable placements, moving
from foster home to foster home until they reach the age of 18 and
are emancipated from the foster care system. This is called "aging
out."
National studies have shown that within 12-18 months of leaving
foster care:
40% will not have completed high school;
50% will be unemployed;
33% will be on public assistance.
Studies show that 40% of these young people will experience
homelessness at least once before reaching the age of 22. They are
at extreme risk of poverty, victimization & criminal involvement,
illness, early childbearing, and low educational attainment. They
are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population and twice
as likely as the general population to be incarcerated. You can
HELP.
You can help spread the word! Become a
WIGH Partner.
TRAC (Transition Resource Action Center) in Dallas, Texas — a
collaboration of over 30 nonprofit organizations, government
agencies and businesses — has partnered with local media production
companies to create a multi-year public service advertisement
campaign to promote the need for more foster families, adoptive
families and mentors for teenagers.
The TRAC is offering the Public Service Announcement (PSA) “When I
Get Home” and supporting collateral material at no cost to
organizations across Texas and the nation willing to promote the
message in their communities.
There are many ways to support WIGH:
Contact
Ron Thompson
to get a list of local community service directors so you can tell
them this is an important issue and you want to see them air “When I
Get Home.”
Sign up for the “When I Get
Home” E-Newsletter and spread the word.
Use “When I Get Home” video
or materials for presentations, on your web site, in your
newsletter.
Make a donation to help us
print “When I Get Home’ materials or purchase advertising space.
Sponsors and Supporters
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