Aging Out of Foster Care

Our America with Julián Castro

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture

4.6 • 884 Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2020

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Foster care youth experience disproportionate rates of homelessness, incarceration, food insecurity, and trauma. The pandemic has only made things more uncertain. With the odds so stacked against them, how can we ensure that foster youth will be able to build a sustainable future for themselves once they transition out of the system and are no longer eligible for the benefits they previously relied on? Franco Vega and Amber Baker of the RightWay Foundation join us on this week’s episode to address these questions and share the extreme hurdles they overcame as foster youth themselves. Keep up with Julián on twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @JulianCastroTX. Resources from this episode: Keep up with The RightWay Foundation here. Learn more about the foster care system with this handy collection of links courtesy of The Marshall Project. Support the show by checking out our sponsors You can digitally purchase life insurance from Haven Life Insurance Agency at havenlife.com/ouramerica. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC17DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527. The Marguerite Casey Foundation, creating greater freedom for changemakers to create a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org, and connect with the Foundation on Twitter and Facebook. To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/our-america shortly after the air date. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's me Ricky Lake. You probably know me for my hit 90s talk show, but if I'm being totally
0:05.8	honest, I was juggling so much and didn't have time to stop and think about what truly went
0:10.5	into living a full and vibrant life.
0:13.1	We'll fast forward to today, I'm 55 and a half years old
0:16.7	and I am happier than ever.
0:18.4	And I'm so excited to help you find your joy
0:21.4	on my new show, The High Life with Ricky Lake.
0:24.0	Together we'll learn new ways to live better.
0:27.0	Listen to The High Life with Ricky Lake from Lemonotta Media.
0:30.0	Out now, wherever you get your podcasts. California is home to the largest number of foster care youth in the country.
0:50.0	At any given time, about 60,000 kids are attempting to navigate this system, often while trying
0:56.2	to overcome a troubled past.
0:59.4	While some will find loving families, others will be on a constant journey to find the right home instead of doing
1:05.7	what they should be doing, just being kids.
1:10.1	In California, youth become emancipated at 21, meaning they're no longer eligible for foster care.
1:17.0	After that, they're pretty much on their own,
1:20.0	and the system isn't really set up to help them succeed once they're ready to enter the workforce or to build a life for themselves.
1:28.0	Foster care youth are disproportionately at risk for incarceration, and in California, one in four emancipated youth are homeless.
1:37.0	I believe a lot of focus should go to this age population that we call transition age youth. It seems like people are more attractive to working with the little kids, you know, the precious little ones, instead of working with the older ones.
1:50.0	Some people focus on if a kid has a tattoo and they have a mustache they can deal with it on their own
1:56.0	Let's forget about them and let's give the ones with the ponytails a chance but our population needs to get intense services.
2:03.0	Franco Vega is the director of the Rightway Foundation,
	...

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