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Youth from Initiative Sites and Initiative's Gary Stangler Testify on Capitol Hill

JJ Hitch (left) and Anthony Reeves

Anthony Reeves, 23, spent 12 years in foster care, and last month he testified on Capitol Hill about what it was like when he aged out at 18 in Atlanta.

"We, young people in foster care, do not ask to be put in the system. When you drop your child off at the day care, they usually cry their lungs out, signifying that most children don't want to be away from their family. For many of us in foster care, we spent our childhood quietly crying for family," he said. "Life is tough enough when transitioning out of care, and it is even tougher if you don't have the support that you need from people who care about you, or if you don't have resources and skills packed along with the rest of your belongings as you are shown out the door."

Anthony was one of four youth who told their stories during a House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing on youth who age out of the foster care system. A second panel included child welfare experts such as Initiative executive director Gary Stangler and Jane Soltis of the Eckerd Family Foundation, which supports our Connected by 25 site in Tampa. Testimony transcripts are available for Gary Stangler, Jane Soltis, and Anthony Reeves.

The youth voices were extremely powerful. "Growing up in foster care is so much harder because when we foster youth go through our normal teenage phases, we are usually living with people who do not know us very well, or we might even be in a placement where our caretakers or staff may be quite disconnected from us," Anthony told lawmakers. "We are often punished for doing the things that most teenagers do, and may even be put on medication as a means to calm us down or as a consequence.

Anthony Reeves (testifying) and Gary
Stangler

"Then, when we are transitioning out of care into a life on our own, we have to be nothing short of perfect because we don't have our parents to help us move in and show us how to fill out applications," he continued. "Most of us aren't allowed to get a driver's license, so we are stuck without transportation if we are in rural areas. Life is tough because we are really put in the most basic of survival modes, 'fight or flight,' 'by any means necessary.'"

Anthony today works with Families First as a Relief Parent, which is the same organization he grew up with, and with Metro Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative (M.A.Y.O.I.), the Initiative's site in Atlanta that helps current and former foster care clients that are transitioning out of the foster care system. He also works with Georgia's Supreme Court, bettering life for youth transitioning from foster care. He also is starting his own music label and music group.

The social worker of Anthony's group home encouraged him to finish high school and go on to college. "Unlike most youth or teenagers who transition out of their family's house, their decision is mainly based on who has the best school. Mine, on the other hand, was based on who offered school year-round. The reason? If I went to a traditional college, then I would have to worry about where I was going to sleep for the summer. I have an extreme fear of being homeless. It was a tough decision, because in addition to a talent for technology, I also had a love for basketball, and I really wanted to wear the gold and black colors for Georgia Tech," Anthony said. He achieved his associate's degree at DeVry University and now is working on his bachelor's in electronic engineering. "I have my apartment — which was drama in itself — because I was unaware and ill-prepared for the expenses that come with getting your first apartment, and because my biological mom has past due bills that she had placed in my name. These challenges almost left me homeless," he told the panel. "With the help pf my mentor, I was able to overcome these obstacles and get my own apartment."

Anthony contrasted his own experience with that of his brother, from whom he was separated during their time in foster care. "When my brother transitioned out at 18, he had not found the stability I had found or connected with supportive adults in his life that could provide the type of mentorship that I relied on. With no guidance, he never attained his high school diploma or G.E.D. He fathered a child. From there, things kind of fell apart for him, and then he became homeless," Anthony said. "With a criminal record and no education, it is now almost impossible for him to get a decent job. We are two brothers in foster care with different experiences and luck and very different outcomes."

Anthony urged the members of Congress to support services to the age of 21 for all young people in foster care across the country. He urged Congress to extend eligibility for the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program to youth under age 25, which should include eligibility for room and board and for education and training vouchers. "It is also my dream that every young person in foster care is provided with support from adults in their lives like I was," he said. "I believe it made all the difference in my life, and led to the divergent paths between my brother and me."

Gary Stangler and Jane Soltis
(front)

Stangler also echoed those goals and urged Congress to adopt the following recommendations to make major progress in improving the bleak outcomes for young people aging out of foster care:

1. It should be the national policy, and a nationally measured goal, that every child emancipating from foster care have a connection to a supportive family.
2. Federal financial participation should be available to the states for kinship, guardianship, and adoption, and the financial incentives to the states should be for all forms of permanence.
3. Reimbursement under Title IV-E should be available to the states for foster care up to age 21, on a voluntary basis and with a clear right to return to foster care.
4. All states should exercise the Medicaid option under Chafee for youth emancipating from foster care to age 21.
5. Congress should recognize the progress made by the states by continuing the Education and Training Vouchers, with incentives to the states to recognize the flexibility needed for this highly vulnerable population, allowing part-time school attendance, extending the age of eligibility to 25 to allow for college completion, and recognizing the unique needs of this population for housing, child care, and options for housing during school vacations.
6. Congress should recognize the need for financial literacy and assets for this population and authorize Individual Development Accounts demonstration projects for youth emancipating from foster care, including more flexibility to include cars and rental housing as assets necessary to economic success and as incentives for participation. Traditional youth IDAs have a poor record, and must be altered for those lacking the support of family members.

"There is momentum building among the states to implement innovative strategies to improve the outcomes for this population. I urge Congress to capture this momentum, and exert national leadership," Stangler said.

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