School of Law’s Child Advocacy Clinic Hosts Symposium on Housing Crisis Facing Youth Who Age-Out of Foster Care

Guided by the Vincentian values of St. John’s University to seek out the causes of and find effective solutions for social problems, the School of Law’s Child Advocacy Clinic hosted a Child Welfare Symposium titled “No Place to Live: The Housing Crisis Facing Youth Aging-Out of Foster Care” on St. John’s Manhattan campus on March 28, 2008.

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Experts from around the country in child welfare, housing and homelessness, and public policy gathered for the day-long event to raise awareness of and find solutions to the problem of youth who age out of foster care without stable homes.  Young people who are in the process of aging-out or who are already on their own also spoke at the Symposium and participated as members of the audience.

Dale Margolin, Interim Director of the Child Advocacy Clinic, opened the day with a slideshow detailing some staggering statistics.  Of the more than 30,000 young people who age out foster care each year in the United States, 65% become homeless upon discharge, 62% are unemployed, and 70% have no high school diploma or GED.   Moreover, fewer than 1% finish college, 50% of the young women have been pregnant by age 19, and 27%  percent of male children discharged from foster care end up in jail.   All foster care youth in the United States are forced to leave their foster placement at age 18, or by age 21, at the latest. This is in stark contrast to non-foster youth, who on average do not leave their family homes for good until age 24.  It is not surprising, then, that 27% of the homeless population in the United States has spent time in foster care.

The first panel set the framework for understanding and addressing these statistics.  Scholars from Chapin Hall, the Empire State Coalition, the National Coalition to End Youth Homelessness, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the Vera Institute, and Wayne State University, presented data, case studies, and a discussion of the legal, regulatory, and fiscal backdrop behind the national housing crisis facing youth aging-out of foster care.

On the second panel, former foster youth spoke movingly about their struggles to find housing. Then speakers from innovative programs such as the Chelsea Foyer, the Edwin Gould Academy, First Place Fund for Youth,The Lighthouse Foundation, Stand-up for Kids, the Settlement Housing Fund and the Youth Advocacy Center described their approaches to providing permanent housing to this population.

Lastly, advocates and scholars from the Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective, the Children’s Aid Society, the Door, Golden Gate University School of Law, Lawyers for Children, and the Legal Aid Society engaged in dialogue about legal advocacy on individual cases, the prospects of law reform, policy changes, and impact litigation, and how to form coalitions between advocates, housing organizations, and government agencies.

Three prominent policy makers and activists -- Ronald Richter, New York City Family Services Coordinator, the Honorable Gladys Carrión, Commissioner New York State Office of Children and Family Services, and Rev. Alfonso Wyatt, Vice President Fund for the City of New York -- supplemented the day with captivating addresses about the importance of serving youth and putting an end this crisis.

Judging by the participation of the audience and the consensus to follow-up on the accomplishments of the day, “No Place to Live: The Housing Crisis Facing Youth Aging-Out of Foster Care” was an enormous success.

For more information, please contact Elizabeth Reilly, Assistant Director of Media Relations at St. John’s University at (718) 990-5789, or e-mail inquiries to reillye@stjohns.edu.