While turning 18 years old in America marks the symbolic transition into adulthood, it holds no significance when it comes to living self-sufficient as an adult. Eighteen-year-olds vote in America. Eighteen-year-olds fight and die for America. However, 18-year-olds do not live on their own in America.
Being 18 years old in America is much more mythical than magical, especially for foster teens transitioning into adulthood. If 95% of Americans are 25 years or older before living self-sufficiently on their own and if less than 10% of 18-year-olds live on their own, then why does America expect nearly 100% of emancipating foster teens to live on their own at only 18?
Why? Because of The Year 18 Myth.
Discover the pain that emancipating foster teens feel as thousands face dark futures as adults in America. Discover the daily paradox that courageous caregivers battle as they try to prepare 18-year-olds for self-sufficiency as adults.
Debunking the Year 18 Myth: Righting the Way for America's Foster Youth is an advocacy strategy aimed to liberate care-givers, politicians, society, and 18-year-old foster teens from the shackles that have bound foster care independent living policies and practices for decades. By affording older foster teens and young adults more time to grow up, we will immediately begin to right the wrongs committed against them and give these promising young people the right of way into adulthood for the 21st Century.
To download the "Debunking the Year 18 Myth" presentation, click
on the link below:
Debunking the Year 18 Myth:
Righting the Way for America's Foster Youth
This presentation requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Don't have it, go get it!
