When foster care ends, the Church shouldn’t walk away
For most kids, this month brings back-to-school shopping, new classes and the excitement of a fresh school year. But for thousands of young people aging out of foster care, it can bring a very different reality: burgeoning adulthood without the support of a family.
More than 20,000 foster youth age out of the U.S. foster care system every year. The transition to adulthood can be overwhelming for even those adolescents who have been supported by a family. However, for those who enter adulthood without the support of a loving biological family or foster family, these stressors multiply.
Those who age out of foster care face significantly higher risks of homelessness, unemployment, substance abuse, instability, unplanned pregnancy and poor physical and mental health outcomes. After turning 18, an estimated 20% experience homelessness, fewer than 3% earn a college degree, and as many as seven in 10 young women who age out of foster care become pregnant before age 21.
These numbers are sobering. But they do not have to determine the future of every young person who ages out of foster care. There is one factor that can make a profound difference: a caring adult who chooses to stay.
Mentorship may sound simple, but for a young person who has experienced the instability, loss and rejection of foster care, having someone consistently show up can alter the trajectory of their life. These youth need more than another program or another resource; they need someone who knows their name, believes in their potential and is willing to walk with them into young adulthood.
This is not an abstract theory; it is real life.
As president and executive director of Lifeline Children’s Services, I have witnessed the difference that a committed adult can make in the life of a child aging out of foster care. Through Lifeline’s Heritage Builders program, we equip local churches with the training and tools they need to come alongside vulnerable youth during this critical season of life.
One young woman connected to Heritage Builders had already experienced more adversity than most people face in a lifetime. Because of homelessness, she had never attended a traditional high school. She struggled deeply and attempted to take her own life more than once before entering the foster care system.
Eventually, she found a safe place in a Christian group home for girls and was connected with a local church that used the Heritage Builders framework. There, she found an advocate who refused to let her circumstances dictate her future.
She completed her high school education online and today is a student at Auburn University.
This young woman, who had never set foot inside a high school because of homelessness, is now attending a university. This precious image bearer of God, who had attempted to take her own life, is now pursuing her future.
While her circumstances did not change overnight, someone entered into her story and helped make sure that life’s circumstances did not define her story.
This young woman was able to defy the odds because a faithful mentor refused to give up on her while consistently showing up for her emotionally, spiritually and physically. This mentor paid for and drove her to college-preparatory classes, encouraged her dreams and opened a world of possibilities simply by being present and walking alongside her.
This is what happens when the Church is willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
This is not ultimately about one program. It is about the body of Christ answering the call to care for vulnerable children and youth.
We know what it means to be adopted into God's family. Through Christ, we have been welcomed, redeemed and given a place to belong. As people who have received that kind of grace, how can we not extend it to the vulnerable children and young adults around us?
Aging out of foster care should not mean aging out of relationships, community or hope. Young people should be able to enter adulthood knowing there is someone who will celebrate with them, pray for them, encourage them and walk with them.
As children across the country return to school this month, let us not forget the young people for whom August marks something very different. Let us remember the thousands of young adults facing adulthood without the safety net so many of us take for granted.
Pray for young people aging out of foster care. Ask your church how it can come alongside vulnerable youth. Use the time, talents and resources God has entrusted to you to meet a need that is right in front of you.
Whatever form it takes, the call is the same: show up.
Herbie Newell is the President of Lifeline Children’s Services, the largest Evangelical Christian adoption agency in the United States. The organization serves vulnerable children and families through private domestic and international adoption, family restoration, and pregnancy counseling. Herbie is also the author of Image Bearers: Shifting from Pro-Birth to Pro-Life.
