- Governor signs bill to assist children aging out of foster care, By Doug Denison, July 20, 2010, Dover Post: ” Children aging out of the foster care system now have access to greater protections under the law thanks to legislation signed June 14 by Gov. Jack Markell. Under Senate Bill 113, former foster children between the ages of 18 and 21 will now be allowed to petition Family Court and continue to work with the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families to get help with housing, employment, education and health care. Court-appointed child advocates, former guardians and the foster children themselves will be able to bring cases to Family Court that weren’t previously within its jurisdiction. In the last fiscal year, 94 Delaware foster children aged out of the system, putting in jeopardy their ability to continue to receive various kinds of federal- and state-funded assistance. Ten years ago, half as many children were in that position…”
- Foster kids at 18 aren’t ready to go it alone in the world, By Kathy Markeland, July 24, 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Each year, more than 7,000 Wisconsin children are removed from their parents’ homes and placed in foster care. Most of these children will live with relatives or foster parents for a short time and then be reunited with their families. Sometimes families can’t be reunited and children are connected to new families through adoption. But for up to 600 young people in Wisconsin each year, their stay in foster care ends when they turn 18 and ‘age out’ of their foster home. They ‘age out’ of the system that promised to protect them. The national data on the experiences of youths that age out of the foster care system are grim. Compared to their peers in the general population, these young people have a higher incidence of physical and mental health needs, yet are less likely to have health care coverage…”
Tag: Delaware
Aging Out of Foster Care – Delaware
Delaware’s children: On their own after foster care, By Mike Chalmers, July 14, 2010, Wilmington News Journal: “One day when Lorri Moxey was 13, her mother told her she needed a yearlong break from her kids. ‘When I walked into the house, all my stuff was packed and there was a van parked outside,’ said Moxey, now 20. ‘I didn’t know what foster care was,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know where I was going. By the age of 14, I knew she wasn’t coming back. She doesn’t want to be a mother.’ Like many teenagers who enter Delaware’s foster care system, Moxey was not adopted and never went back to her family. She ‘aged out’ of the system when she finished high school last summer at age 19. Most leave when they turn 18. Moxey got lucky, though. One of her former foster mothers took her in until she could get on her feet. But others struggle with the transition to adulthood and may end up homeless, in jail or addicted to drugs, experts said. With the number of teenagers aging out of the system nearly doubling in the past decade, Delaware is about to make big changes to help them line up a home, a job, an education and the little things that new adults need to go out on their own…”
Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program
- More people apply for energy assistance to help with heating, By Julie Schmit, March 1, 2010, USA Today: “A record number of U.S. households are applying for help to pay home heating bills with 17 states fielding application requests that are up more than 20% from last year, the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association says. Almost 9 million U.S. households are expected to need help paying winter energy bills. That’s up 15% from the record-setting 7.7 million last year, the association says. Next year may be even worse, when more than 10 million households are likely to need help, given continued weakness in the economy and the swelling ranks of the longer-term unemployed, says Mark Wolfe, the association’s executive director…”
- Requests for heat aid rise, By Aaron Nathans, March 2, 2010, News Journal: “Applications for heating assistance in Delaware are up 10 percent over last year, an increase that mirrors the record number of U.S. households applying for help to pay home heating bills. Seventeen states say requests are up more than 20 percent from last year, the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association said. Almost 9 million U.S. households are expected to need help paying winter energy bills. That’s up 15 percent from the record-setting 7.7 million last year, the association said. Delaware had 16,446 applicants through the end of February, said Leslie Lee, management analyst for the Delaware Division of State Service Centers…”