Three Clinton School students partnered with a local non-profit organization, Immerse Arkansas, to help raise awareness for youth aging out of the state’s foster care system.
The students completed a project documenting what services and support these young adults, ages 16 to24, perceive are most important to their success as they move toward independent living in the community. These included access to healthcare, career development, education, life skills, interpersonal relationships and more.
“To help these young people transition successfully, it is imperative that we understand what they think is working, what could work better and what is still needed,” said Eric Gilmore, founder of Immerse Arkansas. “The Clinton School team gathered this information from a survey of, and conversations with, young people across the state. Their findings will guide our programs going forward and will be shared with others working with this vulnerable population.”
Survey responses came from more than a dozen counties in Arkansas and focus groups were conducted in southeast, northwest and central Arkansas locations.
Last year approximately 250 foster youth aged out of care in Arkansas and nearly 900 more were on track to age out. Nationally, only two percent of former foster youth graduate from college and 40 percent experience homelessness by age 24. These young people are also more likely to be incarcerated, experience teen pregnancy, deal with mental health issues and face other challenges without caring, adult support.
“When we immersed ourselves in the reality of foster care transition, we were struck by the daunting challenges these young people face and their desire to be independent and successful. The work of connecting them to available services and caring support is paramount,” said Nuno Almeida, a Clinton School student from Lisbon, Portugal.
Other Clinton School team members include Nathan Jesson of St. Paul, Minn. and Kelly Ford of Little Rock, Ark. The six-month project was the first of three field service projects required of the school’s Master of Public Service candidates.
Responses