Bridging the Gap: Non-profit Helps Kids Transition from Foster Care into Adulthood

Justine Burton discusses the struggles of individuals who age out of foster care and recounts her own experiences while in the system and being homeless.

(TW: Rape, Sexual assault)

Justine Burton was in and out of the foster care system for much of her early life.

She and her sister were entered into the system after being sexually exploited by her mother.

Their mother would force Burton’s older sister to wear tight clothing and await outside of a bar, alluring men to have sex with her for money.

She was only 14.

At one point, a man gave Burton’s mother a fifth of Old Taylor whiskey in exchange for him to take Burton to a hotel room where she would be raped all weekend.

After being removed from her mother’s custody, Burton went to stay with her aunt and uncle where the abuse persisted.

While in foster care, Burton was frequently moved to different homes –– from Lawrence, to Leavenworth, to Kansas City –– until she finally ran away and began living on the streets at age 16.

By age 19, Burton was still homeless and had two kids.

Eventually, though, Burton was able to receive her high school diploma, move to Minnesota, and land a job at Honeywell as an inspector making around $50,000 a year.

It’s hard to believe that such a radiant person could have experienced some of the suffering that Burton has.

There was no consistency in her education, social life or support system –– the only consistent factor for much of Burton’s life was abuse.

“I think the only thing I ever knew all my life was abuse,” Burton said. “It has an effect on you through your whole life.”

However, despite the hardships, Burton says she would not change anything because her experiences have led her to where she is today.

“I look at my life and things that have happened –– they were horrible and I don’t wish them upon anyone –– but, would I change anything? No,” Burton said. “If I changed anything, then I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

Now, back in Lawrence, Burton is the executive director of a non-profit called Stop Gap Inc.

After having experienced the difficulties of growing up in the foster care system and being homeless, Burton felt compelled to help guide those who may be going through similar experiences.

Stop Gap Inc. empowers youth aging out of foster care by helping them gain the necessary skills to become active members of society. Its Youth Empowerment Program provides classes and interactive workshops on skills like managing finances, employment and job skills, education opportunities, and sex education.

The term "aging out" refers to when children are emancipated from the foster care system once they turn 18, without a family or the necessary skills to make it on their own.

“These kids are invisible to communities. It seems like they have every program for kids except those who have aged out of foster care. Those are the ones who become homeless,” Burton said.

Statistics from the NFYI: kids who age out of the foster care system.

The outlook for those who age out is grim, given their histories of abuse, instability, and insufficient educational experiences. According to the National Foster Youth institute (NFYI), more than 23,000 children age out of the US foster care system every year.

Of this group, 20 percent will become instantly homeless; 7 out of 10 girls will become pregnant before the age of 21; and 1 out of every 2 kids will develop a substance dependence.

Moreover, recent studies have shown that young adults exiting the foster care system are prime targets for predators running sex-trafficking rings. A study in California, for example, found that most of the youth held for prostitution had come from foster care.

“They’re exploited sexually through human trafficking –– they sometimes have sex to meet their basic needs like food and shelter,” Burton said.

A major problem within the system that contributes to these bleak outcomes is “churning,” or the constant movement or displacement of the foster children.

There are many reasons a child may have to move between homes, such as struggles in a school system, behavioral problems that make families unwilling to adopt them and a shortage of foster care families.

Churning can lead to severe, long-term behavioral, emotional, and mental health problems.

Additionally, constantly shifting kids from one place to another causes them to remain in the system for longer which decreases their chances of getting adopted before aging out.

According to Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, a professor of child welfare at Ohio State University who’s studied the Kansas welfare system, “churning creates a vicious cycle — each new placement adds compounded trauma and attachment issues, which makes it harder for them to stay in a foster home — increasing their moves almost exponentially.”

Multiple changes in placements can also result in academic challenges, such as falling behind peers, lower scores on standardized tests and difficulty in social adjustment.

According to the NFYI, about 1 in 4 kids who age out of the system will not graduate from high school or be able to pass their GED.

Another major problem within the system is a lack of access to necessary resources.

Under federal and state law, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) must make efforts to reunify the child with their parents after a child is first removed from their home.

In order for families to be reunited, birth parents must meet a number of commitments that oftentimes conflict with one another. If birth parents do not fulfill these requirements within a given amount of time, parental rights are terminated and the child is put up for adoption.

According to Renee Welstead, an adoptive parents mentor and former visitation worker originally from Kansas City, Missouri, services and resources are oftentimes not readily accessible at times that work for families.

Renee Welstead is an adoptive parents mentor from Nebraska.

“I know it sounds small, but it is a really significant barrier,” Welstead said.

Families are expected to maintain part-time or full-time employment to regain unification, but they are also required to go through drug and alcohol treatment and must show up to all court dates and team meetings.

Half the time, she said, families with full-time jobs couldn’t show up to meetings, which was counted against them. But if they made every meeting, they wouldn’t be able to maintain their job.

“There is a notion that our business world ends at 5 pm, but does not apply to people working in the system. Their visits can only happen at night –– But no therapist is available in the evenings. The courts are all closed. Doctors and drug and alcohol evaluators are all gone,” Welstead said. “There are lots of supports, they’re just not open at the times when they are needed.”

Additionally, although reunification may seem like the best option, the process can actually hurt a child’s chances of finding a permanent home.

According to the NFYI, there is a direct correlation to the age of a child who enters foster care and their likelihood of being adopted –– younger children are more likely to get adopted than older children or teens. Throughout the reunification process, biological parents may regain custody, and then become unstable again, putting the child back into the system. By the time parental rights are fully terminated, children could be close to aging out.

Moreover, there is a shortage of foster parents and social workers, especially on the clinical side, due to high-levels of stress accompanied by low-pay.

“It's really hard to do that job for $12 an hour. It just is,” Welstead said. “It is very hard to work non-stop and make so little money.”

There is also the problem of foster families not being able to access the resources that kids need due to lack of funding. According to the NFYI, states spent a mere 1.2-1.3 percent of available federal funds on parent recruitment and training services.

A lack of training and available funding for resources makes it difficult for foster parents to properly take care of children who may have behavioral or mental health problems. This only increases the child’s chances of being moved to a different home.

Providing child welfare services with sufficient funding to recruit, train, and support more high quality foster families is an important step in ensuring that foster families are well prepared to meet challenging needs and prevent churning.

It is important to note that although foster care isn’t the best solution, it is oftentimes still better than the maltreatment that was being experienced at home. According to the NFYI, a child in the U.S. is about 15 times more likely to be abused in their home than in a foster home.

From this standpoint, it can be said that foster care provides a safer environment for children, but it must do more than just provide safety.

Like Justine Burton says, “these kids are somebody.” They deserve the opportunity to live happy, successful lives as independent individuals, rather than being set up to struggle once they reach adulthood.

May is National Foster Care Month. Take this opportunity to call your U.S. representative or senator, speak with your state representatives or write a letter to your governor to urging them to make the wellbeing of foster children an uncompromised priority.