Preparing Tanya for Adulthood: Transition Planning for Youth with Disabilities

Juvenile Law Center,

Tanya entered foster care at 2 years-old and turns 21 in three weeks. Last year, she was diagnosed with severe mental health needs and an intellectual disability. Now, she’s on the cusp of aging out of foster care, but the child welfare agency has no plan for where Tanya will live or how she will support herself as an adult. Sadly, Tanya isn’t alone.

Youth with disabilities are significantly overrepresented in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and many of them are not connected to critical support services to help them live independently as adults. To help child advocates better prepare youth with disabilities for adulthood, Juvenile Law Center is partnering with the Support Center for Child Advocates to produce a monthly webinar training series for child welfare and juvenile justice professionals in Pennsylvania.

Nearly two-thirds of children in foster care have substantial mental health needs,1 and up to 70% of youth in the justice system meet the criteria for having a disability. These youth are at greater risk for poor outcomes when they leave foster care, such as homelessness, prolonged unemployment, or poor mental and physical health.2 But, if they are provided with strong supportive services and connected to adult-serving systems early, youth with disabilities can have healthy transitions into adulthood.

For example, most, if not all, states have an agency that provides services to people with intellectual disabilities (ID). These state and county ID agencies often support the healthcare and treatment needs of foster youth with intellectual disabilities, and many also provide critical housing support and health services specifically for adults. Having an income is particularly important for foster youth with disabilities, and many of these young people can qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is administered through the federal Social Security Administration.

As part of their transition planning, child welfare agencies should help foster youth with disabilities apply for SSI so that they can have an income while transitioning into adulthood. Unfortunately, just weeks before she is to age out of foster care, Tanya’s child welfare agency failed to connect her with her county’s ID agency and other resources, such as SSI, which could have a profound impact on her ability to live independently, and successfully as an adult.

Child welfare and juvenile justice professionals in Pennsylvania can make sure they’re helping youth in foster care and the juvenile justice system take advantage of all available services and resources by enrolling in our new webinar series, “Transition Planning for Dependent and Delinquent Youth with Disabilities.” The first webinar in the series will be on December 15, and a new webinar will be released every six weeks. Click here to register for the first webinar, “Transition Planning for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities.” For more information or to receive email updates on the webinar series, contact us here.

 

Image credit & license: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thecampbells/16919612584/


[1] Stephanie Z. Deutsch, et al., “Mental Health, Behavioral and Developmental Issues for Youth in Foster Care,” Curr. Probl. Pediatr. Adolesc. Health Care (Oct. 2015).

[2] See Eric Anctil, et al., “Predictors of Adult Quality of Life for Foster Care Alumni with Physical and/or Psychiatric Disabilities,” Child Abuse & Neglect (2007); Mark Courtney, et al., “Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 26” (2011).