‘Aging out’ of the foster care system during a pandemic
By: Anna Gratzer
Tags: Social Services, Foster Care, Homeless, Social Justice, Coronavirus

Few resources during the coronavirus pandemic devastate former foster care youth

Photo by Unsplash

It was September and the world was on lockdown when Emiley Edwards, then 21, transitioned out of Georgia’s foster care system. Like 20 percent of all foster care youth, Edwards was immediately homeless. She was also five months pregnant.

Edwards was one of the 700 adults between the ages of 18 and 21 in the state’s extended foster care program this year. Young people who participate have higher rates of employment and education and lower rates of incarceration. They are also more likely to experience homelessness.

“It was scary,” Edwards said. “Shelters wouldn’t take anyone hardly because of the virus and just the thought of bringing a child into this world and not having a place to stay was very, very scary.”

Social services connected her with a mentor family who allowed her to stay for a short time. They struggled financially after losing their jobs because of the pandemic and could no longer support her.

Once again homeless, Edwards couch surfed. She began renting a property in November in Cedartown, Georgia.

“I just had to take it a day at a time,” she said.

Edwards became accustomed to the instability of moving frequently. At age 3, she and her twin sister, Mercee, were declared wards of the state. Like one in three children in foster care, they entered the system because of parental drug abuse.

The next 15 years of Edward’s life were challenging. She had 33 different foster care placements.

“There’s two in particular that were pretty rough,” she said.

The lack of social support makes it challenging for youth who age out of the foster care system to succeed. Officials say that the coronavirus pandemic just added more barriers.

“These youth are further isolated because of COVID and all the distancing rules,” said Dr. John DeGarmo, an expert in foster care and director of the Foster Care Institute, which provides resources for foster parents. “There’s no one there to provide them with help or support.”

DeGarmo said the rising rate of mental health issues comes from a lack of structure and in-person social interactions for aged out youth. Former foster children are almost twice as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as U.S. war vets, and as much as four times more likely to have experienced symptoms of mental illness in the past year.

Edwards faced more frustration trying to get help during the pandemic.

“It felt like no one ever got back to me because they were so backed up or short-staffed because of COVID,” she said.

Edwards wasn’t the only former foster care youth who struggled. Early research suggests alarming rates of food, financial and housing insecurity as a direct result of the pandemic for aged out youth. University of Pennsylvania found that 7% reported homelessness, 55% faced food insecurity and 21% experienced a financial crisis, citing the pandemic as the leading cause.

The coronavirus also affected Edwards’ education and work. She plans to be one of the 3% of foster care alumni who graduate from a four-year college. She’s studying nursing at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia, but because many of her remaining courses are laboratories, she will have to wait until in-person classes resume to continue her schooling.

In the meantime, Edwards is saving money and working as a phlebotomist and hospice caretaker. She has been exposed to COVID numerous times but has not fallen ill. She would fear for her unborn daughter’s safety if she were to develop symptoms of the virus.

Her sister is serving time in a state prison and she has no relationship with her biological mother.

“My child is why I keep going,” said Edwards, now eight months pregnant. “I refuse to let her suffer. She deserves every bit of happiness and deserves to be safe.”