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18 And Out

Foster care teens need your help to establish happy, productive lives.

After leaving home for the first time, most young adults still rely on their parents for good advice, living skills, and financial help. But, "aged-out" foster care teens have no one to turn to. They have no one to call when they mess up a recipe or get a flat tire. They have no one to listen when they endure a bad breakup or fail an exam. They have no one to support them through their first real job, their first adult relationship, and their first time living on their own.

Nearly 20,000 foster care teens "age-out" of the foster care system each year. Once they reach 18, their state and foster families are no longer required to give them assistance. They are left to fend for themselves.

Unfortunately, many foster care teens don't have the support and life skills necessary to live on their own. Foster care studies have shown that in just four years after leaving foster care, 25 percent of "aged-out" youth have been homeless, 42 percent have become parents themselves, fewer than 20 percent are able to support themselves, and only 46 percent have graduated from high school. Because they lack the support systems most young adults take for granted, aged-out foster care teens are at high risk for substance abuse, domestic violence and poverty.

With just a few hours of your time, you can help foster care teens successfully enter the adult world.

Each of these suggestions can have a big impact on the life of an "aged-out" foster teen. Decide which opportunity to make a difference works best for you.

Be a Mentor

Mentoring gives foster care teens a listening ear and a friend to guide them through their struggles. Mentoring relationships begun while foster care kids are in their mid-teens can be beneficial as the kids become more independent. Consider these mentoring possibilities:

        * Mentor through the internet. VMentor.com allows mentors to form relationships with a foster...