Dismantling Foster Care to Homelessness Pipeline in Austin

The Sacramento City Council just moved forward with a first-of-its-kind plan to provide guaranteed basic income to young adults aging out of the foster care system. Funded by Measure L (the Sacramento Children’s Fund), this initiative isn't just a pilot—it’s a long-term commitment to stability. Approximately 200 foster youth will receive monthly payments for 30 months, alongside housing support and financial coaching. "This effort represents a shift from short-term pilot programs to a sustained, public-supported model," says Edward King of United Way California Capital Region. By filling the gap that opens when foster support ends, Sacramento is working to end the cycle of homelessness and incarceration for our most vulnerable young neighbors. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gpTni9BR

Barbara Ball, TXICFW research scientist, led a study in partnership with Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) and CHANGE 1 MIND CHANGE 1 LIFE youth services, with former foster youth serving as research team members. The study identified opportunities to strengthen coordination across child welfare, homelessness, and public housing systems for youth aging out of foster care. Findings from the study informed the City of Austin's foster youth homelessness prevention efforts. Read the KXAN story ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eyqfJCRn

We built a $33 billion system to protect children. More than 80 percent of the families it investigates are not found to have abused or neglected their children under the law. Let’s keep going. Every year, more than 4 million reports are made to child abuse hotlines, involving about 7 million children. Most people assume those calls uncover widespread abuse. But only about 16 to 18 percent of reports are substantiated. That does not mean nothing is wrong. But it does mean the majority of families investigated are not found to have abused or neglected their children. And the majority of those families are living near or below the poverty line. Not wealthy families. Not middle class families. Families living in poverty. Poverty does not equal neglect. But in practice, the system often responds to the conditions of poverty as if they are safety threats. Housing instability becomes neglect. Lack of child care becomes risk. Stress becomes danger. That is not a child protection system. That is a poverty response with the power to separate families. Now consider the cost. The United States spends more than $33 billion in federal funds alone every year on child welfare. Caring for one child in foster care often costs $30,000 to $60,000 per year, sometimes far more. And on any given day, hundreds of thousands of children are living in foster care. After decades of this level of investment, here is the question: Where are the outcomes? There is limited evidence that expanding foster care, on its own, has improved population-level safety or reduced child mortality. But we do know the downstream impact. Youth who experience foster care face higher risks of homelessness, incarceration, mental health challenges, and exploitation. And when outcomes do not improve, the response is often the same: Invest more. Expand the system. Improve the intervention. More reports. More investigations. More removals. But what if the problem is not underfunding? What if the problem is that we built the wrong intervention to begin with? Because if we were designing child safety today based on evidence, we would not start with surveillance. We would start with stability. Housing. Food. Child care. Income support. Community. Research shows that even modest financial support, around $1,000, is associated with reductions in child maltreatment and child deaths. Not removal. Stability. So here is the question we should be brave enough to ask: If we were designing child safety today based on outcomes, would we build this system again? Or would we build something different? #childwelfare #fostercare #preventfostercare #publicpolicy #socialdeterminants

For children who are NOT in danger, is it wise to spend $30k-$60k (or more) per year to support them - or a small fraction of that to support and stabilize their families and keep them with their loved ones? It can be done if we connect the dots, and we can achieve better outcomes for everyone.

Think about this for a minute. There are roughly 400,000 youth in foster care in the United States right now. About 20,000 age out every single year with no family, no permanency, nowhere to go. In Ohio alone, there are roughly around 14,000 youth in the system and only about 7,100 licensed foster homes. So where are the other 7,000 kids? That is not a hypothetical question. That is a real one that nobody has a clean answer to. Here are the numbers that should bother all of us. Over 40% of youth who age out of foster care are incarcerated by age 20. Between 31% and 46% experience homelessness by age 26.  19% of youth who run away from foster care placements are likely victims of sex trafficking.  Only 8 to 12% earn a college degree, compared to 49% of the general population. I was in a conversation recently with someone working inside the foster care system. They told me about a 12-year-old girl who has been in nearly 40 placements since she was 3 years old. Read that again. FORTHY placements. Nine years in the system and she has never had a stable place to call home. I was told about a teenage girl from with nowhere to some a gentle gigantic to others fear induced by her trauma. The solution the system found was placing her in a hospital room... alone... for most of the day because there was no placement available. We called it a room. It functioned like a cell. (preparing her) We have GREAT people working inside this system. That is not the problem. The problem is the system itself was never built to produce healing. It was built to manage placement...manage the crisis. Those are not the same thing. Fragmentation at the state level. Departments don't communicate with each other. Technology systems inside the same state don't talk to each other. A child can move through 40 placements and nobody has a complete picture of what that child has been through, what she needs or whether anything done so far has actually helped her heal. We track placements. We track case closures. We track compliance. We do not track healing. We do not track stability. We do not measure what happens to a child's mental and emotional state after years of being moved from home to home.hen we wonder why the same youth cycle back into homelessness, incarceration, and exploitation. Then we wonder why the same youth cycle back into homelessness, incarceration, and exploitation. This is not a funding problem. It is not a people problem. It is a structural problem. Fragmentation without trauma-informed practice and healing built into the system at every level doesn't just fail our kids. It guarantees they return to the same cycles we said we were trying to break. That is why I am focused on what I am focused on. Not programs. Not another initiative. The system underneath... rebuilt so that healing is not an afterthought but a measurable outcome from the beginning. These kids deserve that. And right now, we are not giving it to them.

It's already a challenge to be a kid. But for youth growing up in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, who are more likely to experience mental and behavioral health challenges stemming from the trauma of family separation, it's even harder to see an easy path to successful adulthood. That's where Youth Villages steps in. Their nationally-renowned evidence-based programs, including in-home residential treatment and crisis response, are designed to radically improve the lives of children from birth through age 22. Their services aim to preserve and restore family care wherever possible. Where it isn't, as in the case of youth aging out of foster care, Youth Villages staff meet weekly with those it serves to help them obtain safe housing, stable employment, and healthy relationships with others. Philanthropy is a significant part of what makes Youth Villages' programs so effective. Chief Development Officer Richard Shaw calls it "what's-possible" money, providing not only the base funding for their services, but also the leeway to evaluate, test, and expand their offerings so they can deliver better results for the kids they serve. It's particularly true, he observes, for donors who support the organization through donor-advised funds (DAFs): “People who are motivated by doing something best in class, who are motivated by metrics, data, and results—those are people who would want to set up a DAF or have set up a DAF.” Learn more about how Youth Villages enables healing and growth for every child: https://lnkd.in/eDZMycES

Did you know May is National Foster Care Month? While we honor the resilience of these incredible young people, we also have to face a sobering reality. Nearly 50% of youth who age out of foster care will experience homelessness, and many will face exploitation, including trafficking and sexual assault. When a child loses placement, they don’t just lose a roof over their head. They lose stability, guidance, and the kind of safety net most of us take for granted. They’re expected to step into adulthood without a map. We can do better than that. “Defend the weak and the fatherless, uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” — Psalm 82:3 So what can we do this month? Mentor These young adults need more than programs, they need people. A “chosen family” to help them navigate real life, leases, jobs, bills, and decisions that shape their future. Advocate Support extended foster care programs that allow youth to remain in care until age 21, giving them a stronger foundation before stepping out on their own. Give Support organizations providing “aging out” kits, bedding, kitchen essentials, and even help with first month’s rent. These aren’t luxuries, they’re lifelines. No young person should go from a foster home to a sidewalk. Let’s build a bridge, not a ledge. #NationalFosterCareMonth #FosterCareAwareness #EndHomelessness #FosterYouth #AgingOut #PreventionIsPower #CompassionInAction #MatthewsLight #Houston #Homeless #Volunteer

CA Alliance member Walden Family Services is proving what's possible for young people leaving foster care. Their Independent Futures program combines transitional housing, financial literacy, and life skills coaching to help youth ages 18 to 24 build real stability. The results speak for themselves: 90% of clients live in safe, sustainable housing, and 83% leave with meaningful savings. This is the kind of community investment that changes lives. Read more in San Diego Magazine: https://lnkd.in/ehVVU3Fi Walden Family Services

CA Alliance member Walden Family Services is proving what's possible for young people leaving foster care. Their Independent Futures program combines transitional housing, financial literacy, and life skills coaching to help youth ages 18 to 24 build real stability. The results speak for themselves: 90% of clients live in safe, sustainable housing, and 83% leave with meaningful savings. This is the kind of community investment that changes lives. Read more in San Diego Magazine: https://lnkd.in/ehVVU3Fi Walden Family Services

🏠 Opening Hearts, Opening Homes: It’s National Foster Care Month! May is officially National Foster Care Month, and it’s the perfect time to shine a light on a community that defines resilience, compassion, and the power of "showing up." Foster care isn't just about providing a bed for the night; it’s about providing a bridge to a brighter future. Whether it’s reunifying families, supporting older youth transitioning to adulthood, or providing a stable environment during a time of crisis, the impact of a dedicated foster parent or advocate lasts a lifetime. 💡 Did You Know? Small gestures, big impact: You don’t have to be a foster parent to help. Mentoring, donating, or simply educating your network makes a world of difference. The Goal is Connection: The primary goal of foster care is often reunification—supporting families so they can get back together stronger than before. Community Matters: It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a community to support a foster family. 🌟 How You Can Get Involved This Month: Educate Yourself: Learn about the specific needs in your local community. Support a Foster Family: Drop off a meal, offer to run an errand, or simply ask how they’re doing. Advocate: Use your platform (like LinkedIn!) to share resources and break the stigmas surrounding the foster care system. Become a Mentor: Many teens in the system are looking for professional guidance and stable role models. To the social workers, CASAs, foster parents, and kin caregivers—we see you, and we thank you. You are the quiet heroes making our communities stronger, one child at a time. #FosterCareMonth #FosterCareAwareness #ChangeALife #CommunityImpact #NationalFosterCareMonth