Proven Results

Without help, youth who transition out of foster care face tough odds. For example:

• More than 20 percent will become homeless after age 18
• 25 percent will be incarcerated within two years of leaving the system.
• 42 percent will not graduate high school by age 19 (compared with 13 percent nationally), and 97 percent will not earn a college degree by age 25 (versus 72 percent nationally).
• 50 percent are unemployed at the age of 24.
• 71 percent of young women who have aged out are pregnant by age 21
• At ages 23 and 24, youth who experienced foster care suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder at six times the rate of the general population and twice the rate of veterans returning from war.

The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative presents an unusual opportunity for funders interested in an initiative with a record of proven results. In Iowa, an early Jim Casey Initiative state, the outcomes for youth aging out of foster care have dramatically improved. To download information on outcomes in Iowa, click here.