One of the services that I mentioned that we are going to provide at The Transitional Life Center is mental health services. There have been many studies done that show that foster children need better access to these services. A recent study done by Casey Family Programs, Harvard Medical School, the Washington Office of Children’s Administration Research and the Oregon Department of Human Services shows that rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adults that had been in foster care as youth were twice as high as US war veterans.

Few studies have examined how children in foster care fare as adults, and even fewer have identified what changes in foster care services would improve their lives. The Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study provides new information in both areas. More than 20% of adults formerly in foster care placements were found to be doing well, despite facing many challenges, including child abuse and unstable living situations. The majority, however, still faced major challenges in the areas of mental health, education, and employment.

A third of youth formerly in foster care had incomes at or below the poverty level, one-third had no health insurance, and nearly a quarter had experienced homelessness after leaving foster care. Researchers examined the long-term effects of foster care on adults who are now between the ages of 20 and 33. What they found is indicative of national trends, even though the findings were from Washington and Oregon.

"These findings are a wake-up call for the nation to make foster care and the well-being of hundreds of thousands of our most vulnerable children a national priority," said Ruth W. Massinga, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs, the largest national foundation whose sole mission is to provide and improve—and ultimately prevent the need for— foster care.

“These children enter the child welfare system because of traumatic family circumstances and through no fault of their own. We have a responsibility to provide them with good, permanent homes to help them repair the hurt and succeed in life. At Casey Family Programs, we are using this new research to ensure we are addressing these children’s needs more effectively.”

In addition to the PTSD finding, more than half (54.4%) of adults formerly in foster care had clinical levels of at least one mental health problem within the previous 12 months, such as depression, social phobia, panic syndrome and anxiety.


Key recommendations from the study include:
Reduce how many times a child moves on their way to a permanent home.

Encourage the establishment of life-long connections with foster parents and other supportive adults.

Increase access to effective medical and mental health treatment.

Improve foster parent orientation and training with respect to identifying and addressing child mental health needs.

Adopt measures to increase high school graduation rates with diplomas rather than GEDs.

Inform older youth about local college-preparatory programs, such as Gear-Up, TRIO, and Upward Bound, and help them enroll in these programs.

Expand youth employment programs.

Strengthen housing programs to prevent homelessness.

Let’s discuss each of these areas in detail…