“There should be little doubt that, at least in Wisconsin, a significant proportion of foster youths have a very difficult time making the transition to self-sufficiency...To be sure, most of our sample members avoided the worst of the outcomes that we tracked, and a clear majority believe that they were fortunate to have been placed in out-of-home care. Still, only two-fifths of our sample were employed when we found them 12—18 months after the child welfare system had relinquished its responsibility for them. Even those who were employed were, on average, earning less than a full-time worker paid the minimum wage."

"When they needed medical care they often could not obtain it...Too large a group encountered housing instability or even homelessness, and too many were victims of violence. Policymakers interested in crime prevention would be hard pressed to find a group at higher risk of incarceration than the men in our sample. In short, it appears that the glass is little more than half full for the bulk of the young adults we interviewed and near empty for many of the rest."

"The family clearly remains a significant factor in the lives of the young adults after discharge, in many cases providing financial support and shelter...Not all contact with families is positive, however. One-fourth reported having problems with their families most or all of the time. Although for some young adults these difficulties may be little more than communication problems encountered in most families, for others it is much more severe. For example, preliminary analysis of the violence committed against our respondents after they left foster care suggests that at least some of it occurred at the hands of kin."

"Obtaining employment and housing is a fundamental problem for many of these youth. Our findings suggest that independent living training per se made less of a difference than did concrete assistance in whether the young adults found a place to live or secured employment, though this finding should be regarded as preliminary. Not surprisingly, employment while in foster care predicted later employment as well, although employed participants were not necessarily in the same job they had held before discharge. In fact, many held several jobs in sequence, at times with periods of unemployment in between...Many of the young adults fell into difficult circumstances once they exited care—incarceration, homelessness, victimization, or unemployment—suggesting that they might need transitional support to facilitate a smoother move into independent living."

"Close to half needed medical care they could not get, and the vast majority of them indicated that this was due to lack of insurance or money to pay for care. Nearly one-third were unable to obtain needed dental care; again most suggested that lack of insurance was the reason. Similarly, a substantial drop in utilization of mental health services by the study participants, with no apparent change in their mental health status, should be of great concern...90 percent reported that they did not receive help in arranging health insurance before discharge and 85 percent did not get help with obtaining their health records.”