The advice I give the youth in foster care
As a case manager in the system.
I work for a non-profit agency that is licensed through DCS to care for youth who are aging out of the foster care system. The youth at my site are ages 16–21, and yes, kids can stay in the system after the age of 18 if they sign a voluntary contract. We would love to work with these kids forever, there are a few things we try to teach them before they turn 21 and age out of the foster care system.
If they’re in the foster care system, they have trauma. Trauma can make it harder than usual for young adults or kids to get jobs, build healthy relationships, save money, and experience regulation functioning. That is why the advice I would give to kids in the foster care system might be different than kids who, as I said, grew up “normal” or not in the system.
As a case manager, it is my duty to help the kids be as prepared as possible to enter the real world. Here is some of the (realistic) advice I give them.
Advice #1: Work and save as much money as you can now.
This seems like it would be obvious, but for kids in the system it may not be. Kids will come into our program and be here for months or years and refuse to work.
