Massachusetts Task Force
Youth Aging Out of DCF Care
July 18, 2011
The Honorable Kay Khan, House Chair
The Honorable Michael Rodrigues, Senate Chair
Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities
State House, Room 146
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Representative Khan, Senator Rodrigues and Members of the Committee:
The Massachusetts Task Force on Youth Aging Out of DCF Care (The Task Force) would like to express its support of House Bill No. 1862, An Act Providing Housing and Support Services for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (a.k.a Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Act).
The Task Force is a broad coalition, co-chaired by the Home for Little Wanderers and Cambridge Family and Children Services, and is comprised of more than 40 representatives of state agencies, child welfare and human service providers and others working to help the aging out population through advocacy, research and public education. Its mission is to engage public, private and non-profit representatives to ensure that “youth aging out of DCF care have lifelong connections with one or more adults, are fully prepared for college, work and life, and are contributing members of their communities.”
Experiencing homelessness is particularly difficult for youth who are aging out of care because many of them tend to be less resilient than youth in the general population and are often developmentally less prepared for living alone than youth in the general population. [cite]. Homelessness and unstable housing is one of a myriad of risk factors facing aging out youth. As the Task Force’s 2008 report Preparing our Kids for Education, Work and Life demonstrated youth who are aging out of care experience higher rates of unemployment, incarceration, and pregnancy and suffer mental and physical health problems at higher rates than youth in the general population. The Task Force’s report further showed that roughly 40% of the youth surveyed reported having experienced homelessness. This data is supported by the results of Chapin Hall’s Midwest study, which found that nearly 40% of youth surveyed reported that they had experienced homelessness since exiting care. [cite]
Youth homelessness takes its toll on both the youth and our society at large. While many children are resilient and are able to overcome the ravages of homelessness, homelessness often leads to poor health outcomes including increased risk of death, exposure to violence, susceptibility to exploitation and high-risk behaviors, and poor academic performance with increased risk of dropping out of school.
Providing funding for more shelter and housing options, studying the issue of youth homelessness and developing a plan to address the problem of youth homelessness, as called for in H. 1862, are important steps towards ensuring that aging out youth make successful transitions to adulthood so that they may be “fully prepared for college, work and life and are contributing members of their communities.” Therefore, The Task Force urges the Committee to report this bill out favorably.
We look forward to working with you on this and other matters of importance to the children of the Commonwealth.
Very truly yours,
Amanda B. Rodriguez
Director
Youth Aging Out of DCF Care
July 18, 2011
The Honorable Kay Khan, House Chair
The Honorable Michael Rodrigues, Senate Chair
Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities
State House, Room 146
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Representative Khan, Senator Rodrigues and Members of the Committee:
The Massachusetts Task Force on Youth Aging Out of DCF Care (The Task Force) would like to express its support of House Bill No. 1862, An Act Providing Housing and Support Services for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (a.k.a Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Act).
The Task Force is a broad coalition, co-chaired by the Home for Little Wanderers and Cambridge Family and Children Services, and is comprised of more than 40 representatives of state agencies, child welfare and human service providers and others working to help the aging out population through advocacy, research and public education. Its mission is to engage public, private and non-profit representatives to ensure that “youth aging out of DCF care have lifelong connections with one or more adults, are fully prepared for college, work and life, and are contributing members of their communities.”
Experiencing homelessness is particularly difficult for youth who are aging out of care because many of them tend to be less resilient than youth in the general population and are often developmentally less prepared for living alone than youth in the general population. [cite]. Homelessness and unstable housing is one of a myriad of risk factors facing aging out youth. As the Task Force’s 2008 report Preparing our Kids for Education, Work and Life demonstrated youth who are aging out of care experience higher rates of unemployment, incarceration, and pregnancy and suffer mental and physical health problems at higher rates than youth in the general population. The Task Force’s report further showed that roughly 40% of the youth surveyed reported having experienced homelessness. This data is supported by the results of Chapin Hall’s Midwest study, which found that nearly 40% of youth surveyed reported that they had experienced homelessness since exiting care. [cite]
Youth homelessness takes its toll on both the youth and our society at large. While many children are resilient and are able to overcome the ravages of homelessness, homelessness often leads to poor health outcomes including increased risk of death, exposure to violence, susceptibility to exploitation and high-risk behaviors, and poor academic performance with increased risk of dropping out of school.
Providing funding for more shelter and housing options, studying the issue of youth homelessness and developing a plan to address the problem of youth homelessness, as called for in H. 1862, are important steps towards ensuring that aging out youth make successful transitions to adulthood so that they may be “fully prepared for college, work and life and are contributing members of their communities.” Therefore, The Task Force urges the Committee to report this bill out favorably.
We look forward to working with you on this and other matters of importance to the children of the Commonwealth.
Very truly yours,
Amanda B. Rodriguez
Director
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