The Suffrage of Transitional Age Youth (TAY)

By Belinda Williams, Eleanor Reid, Colleen McDuffie, Tunisia Nelson, Colleen McDuffie

The child welfare practice did not bear in mind the challenges vulnerable and at risk youth transitioning from foster care into the community endured; consequently, child welfare services were terminated when the youth reached the age of majority. As a result of the negative outcomes these youth have suffered, it was clear that the policy makers had to make additional amendments to provide more support for these transitioning youth. In fact, the implementation of Assembly Bill 12 (AB 12) is expected to provide such support.

Assembly Bill 12’s objective is to improve the educational, housing, and employment outcomes for transitional age youth to enhance the probability of becoming stable and not to be dependent on the government. In addition, the objective is for transitional age youth to minimize the problems with housing, education, employment, substance abuse, and criminal involvement (Schelbe, 2011). The value of AB 12 is for transitional age youth to obtain permanent housing, establish lifelong relationship connections, work proactively to reach goals, gain life experiences, and to offer a safety net to achieve success as an independent adult.

The target population for AB 12 is transitional age youth aged 18–-21, emancipating from child welfare. This population also includes youth transitioning from the probation department (Delgado, 2013). It has been made clear to the policy makers that providing extended foster care is imperative, as many transitional age youth do not have the full brain development to make well thought out decisions; moreover, science suggest that, biologically, the brain doesn’t fully develop until around the age of 25 or later (Delgado, 2013).

Nevertheless, transitional age youth were “aged out” of the system at approximately age 18 and had a limited ability to be independent and self-sufficient. As a result, many transitional age youth combated major challenges with some of society’s most serious social problems such as incarceration, homelessness, lack of adequate wages, lack of education attainment, mental health needs, substance abuse usage, and unplanned pregnancies (Courtney & Heuring, 2005; Vaughn, et al., 2008; Jimenez, et al., 2014).

References:

Courtney, M., & Heuring, D. (2005). The transition to adulthood for youth “aging out” of the Foster Care System. 27-67 in Osgood et al. 2005.

Jimenez, J., Pasztor, E., Chambers, R., & Fuji, C. (2014). Social policy and social change (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington: Sage.

Vaughn, M., Shook, J., & McMillen, J. (2008). Aging out of foster care and legal involvement: Toward a typology of risk. Chicago Journals, 82(3), 1–-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/592535