Press Release
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly - "Aging Out"
Aging Out
Feature, Original Broadcast Date: July 4, 2008 (Show #1144):
Each year, approximately 20,000 18-year olds in the foster care system are released into society. According to the University of Chicago, less than two-thirds of them have completed high school. Many don't have jobs. And their rates of arrest, health problems and welfare dependency are far higher than the population as a whole. So where can they turn for help? Mary Alice Williams reports on the efforts by two organizations -- Covenant House in New York and the Reformed Church of Highland Park in New Brunswick, New Jersey -- to help young adults face the challenges of this transition. "Our experience is that when somebody ages out of foster care, they do not have the skills to live on their own," notes Bruce Henry, executive director of Covenant House. "So, within a fairly rapid period of time, they're accessing the shelter system . . . The foster care kid is terribly, terribly dependent."
Featured (in alphabetical order):
Allisa Breeden
Bruce Henry, Executive Director, Covenant House, New York
Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale, Reformed Church of Highland Park, NJ
Basim Miller, Resident, Covenant House
Jasmine Rios
Rob Roesener, Attorney
Shabree Wilson
Each year, approximately 20,000 18-year olds in the foster care system are released into society. According to the University of Chicago, less than two-thirds of them have completed high school. Many don't have jobs. And their rates of arrest, health problems and welfare dependency are far higher than the population as a whole. So where can they turn for help? Mary Alice Williams reports on the efforts by two organizations -- Covenant House in New York and the Reformed Church of Highland Park in New Brunswick, New Jersey -- to help young adults face the challenges of this transition. "Our experience is that when somebody ages out of foster care, they do not have the skills to live on their own," notes Bruce Henry, executive director of Covenant House. "So, within a fairly rapid period of time, they're accessing the shelter system . . . The foster care kid is terribly, terribly dependent."
Featured (in alphabetical order):
Allisa Breeden
Bruce Henry, Executive Director, Covenant House, New York
Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale, Reformed Church of Highland Park, NJ
Basim Miller, Resident, Covenant House
Jasmine Rios
Rob Roesener, Attorney
Shabree Wilson