Aged out and at risk
Posted April 27, 2015 in Op-Eds
As a research intern at Policy Matters Ohio, Brant Duda looked into expanding supports for foster-care youth to age 21. Brant brought a special perspective to the topic: He was a foster child who found himself on his own at age 18.
Now pursuing a master’s degree in social work, Brant wrote an opinion piece weaving together his personal experience, the many risks faced by 18 year olds aging out of the foster system, and details about much-needed legislation (House Bill 50) that would bring Ohio in line with other states that provide services until age 21. His op-ed article appeared in The Plain Dealer Sunday and can be found here.
“As a foster youth, becoming a legal adult meant I finally had choices over my life, and children’s services could no longer tell me what to do,” Brant wrote. “But foster youths aging out of the system are often in such a hurry to spring away from problems, they forget that responsibilities become theirs alone to bear.”
“Youths who leave foster care at 18 with little or no support can suffer terrible outcomes. Left to fend for themselves, one in four in Ohio experience homelessness by age 19. One-third will be incarcerated. Half fail to complete high school or earn a GED, and many end up pregnant or fathering a child.”
Brant is among relatively few young people who age out of the system at 18 and go on to earn a bachelor’s degree.
“I am proud to be a social worker who strives to help people who are coming up through the same circumstances I did. I earned my bachelor’s degree — something only about 2 percent to 9 percent of former foster youths can say — and am working toward my advanced degree. To say that I am among the 2 percent to 9 percent is an honor, but I should be in much larger company. It is our job as a community and as human beings to help this disadvantaged population.”
— Harlan Spector