Young Adults

Ten years ago, I was George White, a 17-year-old high school student in foster care advocating for the extension of foster care to age 21 through AB 12. Today, I introduce myself as 27-year-old Dr.

Efforts to shield more teens from the adult criminal justice system are viewed as a progressive cause across the country. But an effort to expand California’s juvenile justice system to include older youth has drawn skepticism, partly due to its chief architect: the state’s probation lobby.

California’s state juvenile justice facilities have become more violent again, and one advocacy group said it is time to start setting them on a path to extinction. A report by the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), chronicling the recent troubles at youth prisons run by the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), comes at a time when the agency’s future is already in flux following legislative action and special scrutiny from California Governor Gavin Newsom (D).

Stressful times push people to the limits. For many young people, stress comes from tuition bills, roommates who are late on rent, and job interviews that might have gone better with the right degree or certificate in hand.

Through the work of Public Counsel and the Alliance for Children’s Rights, pregnant and parenting foster teens have a new resource. The website, teenparent.net, is the first of its kind, covering the specific needs of foster youth making the transition from child to parent.

An urban program in Denver offers more than just a place for homeless youth ages 15-24 to stay. Read this article HERE.

This report presents an interpretation of outcomes experienced by young people making the transition to adulthood from foster care. It also points out some implications for policy and practice of the varied experiences of former foster youth in transition.