Residential Instability

At any given time, Michigan has over 19,000 children and youth in foster care, and each year, about 450 youth age out of the system with little or no aftercare services provided to them (Michigan Department of Human Services). In 2004, 22,718 young people aged out of foster care without the support of a family or caring adult legally committed to helping them (Kids Count 2007).

In October 2006, Detroit's Wayne State University released a study on how local foster care youth fare after they age out of the system. Of the 264 youth surveyed, 17% had lived on the streets and shelters for an average of 2 months, only 40% had graduated from high school, 33% had "couch surfed" at the homes of friends and relatives, and, on average, each had been unemployed half the time they were on their own. Those who had jobs made very low wages, mostly in the fast food industry, averaging just $600 per month. Over 25% of males had been in jail (Ann Arbor News, 2/11/07).

With no options and no way to support themselves, many foster care youth end up on the streets. At CHM, over 25%, one out of four of our shelter clients have aged out of the foster care system.