According to a national study, 1-in-5 foster care youth will become homeless after the age 18, and 1-in-4 will be involved in the justice system within two years of aging out of the child welfare system. Those numbers prompted California to extend the age foster youth receive benefits to 21. But some experts say there’s more to be done. We take a closer look at the challenges California’s foster youth face when they age out of the system and the resources available to them.
Aging Out of Foster Care
(Ryder Diaz/KQED)
Guests:
Amy Lemley, policy director, John Burton Foundation; co-founder of First Place for Youth.
Erika Dirkse, program director, San Francisco Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA)
Lynn Dolce, director for foster care mental health, San Francisco's Department of Public Health
Noel Anaya, 20-year-old foster youth
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