Virginia General Assembly should raise foster care ‘age-out’ age to 21

Letter to the Editor 

November is National Adoption Month in America, a time when our nation celebrates and raises awareness about adoption. While all adoption stories are important, the particular focus of this month is the adoption of children currently in foster care.

There are millions of orphans all over the world who desperately need families. Here in America, there are also children who don’t have the love and security of a stable family.

According to the Health and Human Services Department, there are about 400,000 children in the American foster care system, of which about 100,000 children are waiting to be adopted because their parents’ rights have been terminated due to neglect or abuse. On average, more than 250,000 children enter the foster care system every year. While more than half of these children will return to their parents, the remainder will stay in the system.

Here in Virginia, there are about 4,900 kids in the system, of which about 860 are in need of adoptive families, because their parents’ rights have been terminated. There are a wide range of ages of children who are available for adoption – about 50 percent are 10–years-old or younger. Families for siblings are sorely needed as well, as there are numerous sibling groups available for adoption in our state.

Many foster children are at risk of falling prey to human traffickers. They are often targeted by traffickers because of their need for love, affirmation, and protection. Studies have shown that between 50 and 80 percent of commercially sexually exploited children in America are, or were formally, involved with the foster care system.

Each year, more than 20,000 children in America ‘age out’ of foster care without being adopted at all. Although there are some that succeed, the outcomes for most of these young people are very bad. One in five will become homeless after age 18. Only 58 percent will graduate high school by age 19; and fewer than 3 percent will earn a college degree by age 25. And 71 percent of young women who ‘age out’ are pregnant by 21 years old. Take a moment and read those startling statistics again.

Abruptly faced with living independently, often with no home foundation or family support to offer security, these young people often flounder. Can you imagine being fully on your own at the age of 18, after experiencing years of insecurity, emotional trauma, and even abuse?

A study of teenagers that ‘age out’ of the foster system in Virginia shows that they are twice as likely to use food stamps (SNAP), and three times more likely to use welfare services, like Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), as adults, years after they ‘age out’.

The Virginia General Assembly should, as dozens of other states have, raise the foster care ‘age-out’ age to 21 years old to keep them in foster care. This would provide more support for these vulnerable young people, and reduce the risk of them falling into poverty, sex trafficking and crime. Keeping them in foster care increases their chances of graduating, obtaining a good job, and becoming fully self-sufficient. Passing this legislation – Fostering Connections Act – would save the state thousands, maybe millions, of dollars in future welfare and prison spending.

The government manages the foster care system and essentially maintains custody and responsibility of foster children, but there is absolutely no substitute for the role of a family in the well-being of a child and the health of a community. This principle is driven home to me every time I talk to a foster teen or young adult who has aged out of the foster system. They will tell you that they never outgrow the need for a family. I know adults who have aged out of foster care and, in their late-20’s and 30’s, still long for a family to come home to at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Here in Prince William County, we are blessed with dedicated social workers who care very deeply for our foster children. Many of them are over-worked and under-paid, yet they devote their life to counseling and helping the most vulnerable among us. We also have local elected leaders in Prince William who are great advocates for adoption, foster care, and kinship care. In particular, the families of Supervisors Marty Nohe, Jeanine Lawson and Delegate Michael Futrell have personally taken this step and devoted their time to advocate for vulnerable children.

If you have any interest whatsoever in helping the foster care problem in Virginia, please consider learning more about the process of foster care, mentoring or becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).

Each month, the Prince William County Department of Social Services offers informational meetings about the foster care process. One meeting is held on the 2nd Monday of the month at the A.J. Ferlazzo Building in Woodbridge from 6pm to 7 p.m. Another is held every 4th Monday of the month at the Sudley North Government Center in Manassas from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Learn more information by visiting www.pwcgov.org. Learn more about becoming a CASA at www.casacis.org.

Don’t let National Adoption Month go by without thinking about the vulnerable children in our foster care system, and how it impacts the future of our state. To prevent the negative outcomes associated with aging out of the system, consider helping with family reunification support, foster care, and foster-to-adoption, or supporting local organizations who engage in this work.

D.J. Jordan is serving a four year term (2013-2017) as a Member of the Virginia State Board of Social Services and lives in Woodbridge.