New Report – Fostering Connections: Actions Needed to Prevent Homelessness Among Foster Care Alumni
Featuring Findings from Interviews and Surveys with Young Adults with Lived Experience and Recommendations
LOUISVILLE, KY – Whether they exit care through adoption, family reunification, or aging out, foster care alumni are at higher risk of experiencing homelessness as a young adult. According to recent data, approximately one in three young adults who leave foster care in Kentucky will experience housing insecurity as a young adult. The Fostering Connections: Actions Needed to Prevent Homelessness Among Foster Care Alumni report, released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates, examines the housing challenges facing young adults in Louisville with a foster care experience and systemic barriers that contribute to those challenges. It also offers recommendations to improve outcomes and promote stability among foster care alumni.
“As someone who has experienced both foster care and homelessness, I want to do what I can to help make sure no one feels what I’ve felt or has to be in the same places I was. It’s important to focus on solutions that help young people now and set up youth for better outcomes in the future,” said Damareus Jackson-Martin, Certified Evidence Based Associate and Alumni Advocate.
Kentucky Youth Advocates and True Up partnered with YouthBuild Louisville, with support from the Jewish Heritage Fund, to gather information from foster care alumni ages 18 to 28 years old about contributing factors to their homeless experience and their ideas for addressing barriers and improving systemic challenges.
“Youth who have aged out of foster care without permanent family connections are vulnerable to homelessness, yet we also know that those who have left care with permanency identified, such as through reunification with family or adoption, still face challenges. Young adults who are LGBTQ+, Black/African-American, and male also face increased risk of homelessness,” said Nikki Thornton, Senior Director of Innovation at Kentucky Youth Advocates. “The uniqueness of each young person’s experience must be considered because, despite the availability of programs specifically designed to support young adults transitioning out of foster care, instability and homelessness persists for this vulnerable population.”
“As a grantmaking organization focused on improving the health and wellness of youth in Louisville, we are grateful for the opportunity to support organizations collaborating to address the increase in the number of foster care alumni facing homelessness,” said Jeff Polson, President & CEO of the Jewish Heritage Fund. “This partnership with Kentucky Youth Advocates, True Up, and YouthBuild has resulted in on-the-ground, responsive services for alumni such as emergency hotel stays, supports to secure permanent and stable housing, and connection with other needed resources.”
Fostering Connections shares findings and recommendations as the result of a survey and focus groups with young adults who have experienced both foster care in Kentucky and homelessness, as well as interviews with staff at agencies that provide support. Of those young adult respondents, one in three had six or more experiences with homelessness, varying from while with their biological family, while in foster care, and after leaving the foster care system. Ninety-one percent of respondents also reported that they were not financially stable when they left foster care, meaning they were unable to meet basic needs, such as paying for rent, groceries, or clothing.
By highlighting the lived experiences of young people, key findings from the report included the following themes:
- Lack of appropriate housing options and services
- Mental health challenges as a cause and effect
- Lack of connections and supports
- The impact of their foster care and adoption experience
- Gaps in services and the foster care system
“By listening to and collaborating with young people with lived experience, our community can come together to address the challenges facing foster care alumni in Louisville,” said Tatum Heath, Alumni Advocate.
Foster care alumni, which is defined as individuals who have been in the foster care system and either aged-out or left care, have access to several social services and community resources due to their foster care experience, such as extended foster care participation, rental assistance, and supportive housing projects. However, input from this report revealed that while there are systems in place to provide support, those systems are riddled with gaps and barriers that hamper young adults’ ability to connect with these resources.
The following recommendations are among several offered in the report:
- Ensuring housing options for one year for youth and young adults leaving foster care
- Encouraging community drop-in centers to extend hours of operation to include evenings and weekends
- Permitting foster youth a say in selecting their therapist when receiving mental health services
- Ensuring consistent targeted case management for young adults transitioning out of foster care
- Regulating adoptions after age 16 and 17 to ensure foster youth can maximize benefits and support post-exiting care
- Creating a 24-hour crisis hotline for foster care alumni
To access the Fostering Connections: Actions Needed to Prevent Homelessness Among Foster Care Alumni report and to view the full list of findings and recommendations, visit kyyouth.org. View an executive summary of the report here.
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About Kentucky Youth Advocates
Kentucky Youth Advocates believes all children deserve to be safe, healthy, and secure. As THE independent voice for Kentucky’s children, we work to ensure policymakers create investments and policies that are good for children. Learn more at www.kyyouth.org.
