Housing First programs places priority on accelerated placement into permanent housing. But for youth, such a focus can undermine the step-wise progression necessary for skill-building and sustainable independence (e.g., moving from group home to supervised apartment to independent living). Similarly, applying housing rules designed for adults to these young people can be counterproductive. Per Section 8 rules, missing a utility bill can result in a lifetime ban from the program—a weighty consequence for young adults in the Step-Up Program who are still acquiring life skills and experience. Often, creative and compassionate supervisors or front-line staff have found ways to follow rules but build in the flexibility and variability that serve youth best. Such staff and their creative solutions are assets to build upon.
The Investment: Who and How Much? Given the currently poor outcomes for many foster youth, taxpayers pay a hefty price for society’s failure to invest in these young people. For every child who ages out of foster care, taxpayers and communities will pay, on average, $300,000 in social costs over that person’s lifetime for taxpayer-funded public assistance, incarceration, and wages lost as a result of incomplete education.26 Focusing exclusively on the 60-120 foster youth who age out with minimal supports (instead of the total universe of 1,000 who age out each year), the bill of future costs amounts to $18-$36 million each year.
Housing a foster youth in private studio housing from age 18 to 24
$86,400 Four years of in-state tuition, room, board, and books at University of Hawai‘i
$26,832 Portion of a full-time case manager’s salary and fringe to supervise a foster youth from age 18 to 24 (assumes a caseload of 15)
$33,600
The figure of $300,000 represents a theoretical “break even” amount that we, as a community, should be willing to invest, per foster youth, to improve post-emancipation outcomes. By comparison, here are some of the peryouth costs of some of the recommendations at the right.
EVERY FOSTER CHILD WHO AGES OUT OF CARE COSTS TAXPAYERS
$300,000 IN SOCIAL COSTS IN THE CHILD'S LIFETIME
TOUCHPOINTS
of
HOMELESSNESS
17