Don't force kids out of foster care at 18

Bob Mecum is president and CEO of Lighthouse Youth Services.

Teenagers in the state foster care system shouldn't be forced to be alone and on their own as soon as they turn 18. But it's happening. More than 1,000 Ohio foster youths age out of the child welfare system each year. What happens next is devastating.

Foster youths who age out of the system at 18 often are ill-prepared and overwhelmed. They are more likely to drop out of school, become parents before they are ready, experience homelessness, fall victim to human trafficking, be unemployed or be incarcerated – costly consequences that affect us all.

It's tough for many teens to leave the structure of the foster care system – especially considering the trauma that probably put them there in the first place – and manage on their own without help. Now, the help they need is within reach.

Ohio state lawmakers are considering legislation which will better protect those who age out of foster care. Ohio House Bill 50 will extend needed services to foster youth up to age 21. Lighthouse Youth Services strongly supports House Bill 50.

It's not just the right thing to do; it makes fiscal sense. For every person who ages out of foster care, we pay $300,000 in social costs. Within six years of HB 50's full implementation, Ohio will benefit dollar-for-dollar. The program will tap federal funds to help defray most of the costs to the state.

Ohio's foster care system is primarily funded through county levies. If the General Assembly was to pass HB 50 without the funds necessary for the counties to implement this extension of foster care to 21, it would become yet another unfunded mandate. That's why advocates for HB 50 have insisted from the beginning that the additional 3 years of care would be funded with state and federal dollars –60 percent from the federal government and 40 percent from the state. The federal funding is available, but requires the state to pass legislation extending foster care to 21 in order for the state to access this federal support. Most states have already approved legislation to extend foster care to 21 and the evidence is clear that this will be an effective deterrent to youth homelessness.

This investment in Ohio's foster youth will result in many positive outcomes. Researchers from the University of Chicago found that staying in foster care through age 21 more than doubled the odds that young adults would be working or in school at age 19. They also were twice as likely to have finished at least a year of college by the time they were 21. And young women who stayed in care longer saw a 38 percent reduction in pregnancy before the age of 20.

Ohio must take a smart approach to helping our young people realize their full potential. We urge the General Assembly to pass HB 50.