All young people need a place to live that is safe, stable and affordable

Initiative Policy Goal

Provide priority access to safe, affordable housing options

Issue Definition

A major problem facing young people who transition from foster care to adulthood is periodic and chronic homelessness and/or lack of stable housing. When most young people are discharged from foster care, they are on their own; in most states, this occurs at age 18.  The Midwest Study, a longitudinal study following a sample of young people as they age out of foster care and transition to adulthood found, by the age of 23 or 24, almost 30 percent of the young people had been homeless for at least one night since exiting foster care. This number increased to 40 percent when those who had ever “couch-surfed,” i.e., slept on the couches of different friends and families without a permanent place to stay, were included.¹   

Young people transitioning from foster care face homelessness for many reasons.  They often do not have family resources upon which they can rely for support or a place to stay in an emergency. They often do not have help with money for apartment security deposits, utility deposits, or even rudimentary furniture; and they do not have a credit history or co-signer available to guarantee payment. Young people who are homeless or “couch-surfing” often lack access to routine medical care, education and employment.  Priority access to safe, affordable and stable housing options and housing initiatives designed to meet the unique needs of this vulnerable group are critical, particularly given their age and lack of family and community networks to rely on.

Status

There are several important federal programs that help young people formerly in  foster care secure housing. The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (Chafee) allows states to spend up to 30 percent of their Independent Living Program funds on housing for young people until age 21. A 2009 study of state policies and programs found that most of the states surveyed (39 of 45 responding) are using at least some of their Chafee funds for room and board for young people who are 18 but not yet 21. Most use it to pay rent, security deposits and utilities. And nearly two-thirds of the states (25 of 39 states responding) using Chafee funds for room and board do so exclusively for young people formerly in foster care.²

Furthermore, according to the US GAO which surveyed independent living coordinators in all states in 2004, 46 states reported that they offered assistance, in addition to Chafee, with room and board to young people who had emancipated from foster care. The GAO also visited four states and found that all of these provided some type of housing subsidy or placement for young people at varying levels of independence.  However state officials and young people in the four states stated the availability of housing resources for young people during their initial transition from foster care depended on where they lived, and in some cases the benefits provided did not completely meet the needs of young people or were available only to certain young people. This gap was identified by states again when the GAO surveyed child welfare directors in 2006. At that time, 31 states reported dissatisfaction with the level of housing for young people transitioning to independence.³

Young people aging out of foster care are also eligible for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Unification Program (FUP). FUP participants receive rental assistance and services for up to 18 months. Although in practice, the limited time period and insufficient funds to meet the need are critical barriers. And in 2009, only a small percentage of states reported participating in this program.⁴ Given the demand for housing, The National Alliance to End Homelessness has included housing for young people transitioning from foster care as one of its 2010 federal policy priorities and is advocating for increased funding by $20 million in 2011. 

Another program available through the housing authority is The Housing Choice Vouchers (i.e. Section 8), which can give priority access to young people aging out of foster care. Priority access ameliorates or mitigates the time sensitive and urgent needs of young people aging out of foster care by eliminating or shortening otherwise lengthy waiting lists for housing. However, these priority access vouchers are only available in a few places within the states of Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.  And because counties implement this program differently, it varies within states. In several of these states (California and New Mexico) the program exists in only one county. In addition, the District of Columbia, Georgia and New Jersey offer priority access depending on availability of vouchers.³   

More recently, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 allows states to use federal reimbursement dollars to extend foster care up to age 21. The extended care option allows young people to be placed in a supervised setting in which they are living independently, as well as in a foster family home or group home. If states choose this option, it could provide housing for young people who might otherwise be homeless.  The additional three years of housing security may afford young people a more gradual transition to independence with extra time to develop adult competencies, complete education or training, find steady employment and secure stable housing.  For more information see policy goal on extension of foster care to age 21.

Fostering Connections also requires states to help young people develop a personalized transition plan with specific options on housing. To help young people develop housing options, caseworkers and other advocates should offer a continuum of housing options for the young person to consider and help determine which arrangement will fit their situation best.  For more information on developing effective transition plans see youth led planning policy goal.  In some states brochures are available that describe services for which young people are eligible and information on how to access critical resources such as housing. One example is On Your Own but Not Alone: A Handbook to Empower Florida Youth Leaving Foster Care. A non-state specific publication that guides young people with securing housing and provides links to resources is It’s my Life: Housing — A Guide for Transition Services. Both are listed below under resources.

Another promising approach to assist young people with housing is through a matched savings account, otherwise known as an Individual Development Account (IDA). The Jim Casey Youth Opportunity Initiative’s Opportunity Passport™ includes an IDA that allows young people between the ages of 14 and 24 that have been in foster care to purchase approved assets – education, vehicle, housing, investments, microenterprise and health care – and receive a dollar for dollar match, up to $1,000 per year based on the participant’s savings. 

Most adult IDA programs allow participants to draw the match dollars for purchase of a home, retirement savings or their education. The Opportunity Passport™ is unique in that it allows young people to draw the match dollars for an apartment deposit or a vehicle, assets that are developmentally appropriate and typically acquired by children from intact families with help and support of parents.  Opportunity Passport™ participants have saved and matched at rates comparable to adult IDA programs, and the two most commonly purchased assets are a vehicle and housing (apartment deposits).  Early trends also show that those young people that have purchased an asset are more likely to report safe, stable and affordable housing.  This does not seem surprising given the two most frequently purchased assets.  Young people with a car immediately have a broader geographic area within which they can find appropriate housing, and assistance with apartment deposits immediately opens up more options as well.⁵

Initiative partners in Indiana and Georgia have created additional exemplary housing options and supportive services programs.  Connected By 25 in Indiana, and participating direct service providers will provide case management services to tenants of the Willard Park Revitalization project, currently under construction. This project will make a total of 30 units available for young people aging out of foster care and those who are currently homeless.  The neighborhood will also include a new resource/drop-in center, providing a computer lab, resource library, office space for the independent living specialists, visiting nurses and visiting legal services, as well as many more supports to help these young people succeed.

In Georgia, The Making My Way Home pilot was a door opener in Atlanta, designed by the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative to bring intensive services to emancipated youth vulnerable to homelessness. The pilot has a dual purpose, to end or avoid homelessness and build capacity for independent living. This program continues under the auspices of the DeKalb County Housing Authority, DeKalb County Community Development Department, and Nicholas House for case management services.

Resources

American Bar Association. Bar-Youth Empowerment Project of the American Bar Association with Florida’s Children First (2008). On Your Own by Not Alone: A Handbook to Empower Florida Youth Leaving Foster Care. www.dcf.state.fl.us

Casey Family Programs. It’s my Life: Housing — A Guide for Transition Services (2005). This publication provides information to help young people exiting foster care plan for their housing and includes a section on housing resources. www.casey.org

The National Alliance to End Homelessness. A nonprofit, non-partisan, organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. By improving policy, building capacity, and educating opinion leaders. www.endhomelessness.org  

References

¹Dworsky, A., & Courtney, M.E. (2010). Assessing the Impact of Extending Care beyond Age 18 on Homelessness: Emerging Findings from the Midwest Study. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

 ²Dworsky, A. & Havlicek (2009). Review of State Policies and Programs to Support Young People Transitioning Out of Foster Care. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

 ³Testimony of Cornelia M. Ashby, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues for the U.S. Government Accountability Office before the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives for the hearing on. “HHS Actions Would Help States Prepare Youth in the Foster Care System for Independent Living” Washington, DC on July 12, 2007. (2007).

⁴Dworsky, A. & Havlicek (2009). Review of State Policies and Programs to Support Young People Transitioning Out of Foster Care. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

⁵Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative (2009). The Opportunity Passport(tm): Building Assets for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care.