Children and teens who live in long-term foster care experience higher rates of behavioral and emotional problems compared with their peers who are reunited with their families or adopted, according to new research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
Youth in foster care have higher incidence of:
- Depression
- Poor social skills
- Negative behaviors like anger and aggression
- Trauma exposure
- Abuse and/or neglect
- Erratic behavior
- Delays in development
If you work with youth in foster care, you need to prepare them for when they age out of foster care and they are living on their own.
ARISE has decades of experience in providing age appropriate,
instantly usable life skills lessons that will last a lifetime.
How do you build a strong relationship with youth
Use ARISE life skills age-appropriate lessons to teach good communication skills:
- Let them know “You care and love them”
- Set boundaries, rules, and consequences
- Listen and empathize
- Do activities together
- Be available and distraction-free
- Eat meals together
“Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.”
Nationally there are approximately 400,000 children in foster care on any given day, with nearly half (200,000) age 14 or older. Nearly 26,000 youth age out of foster care at age 18 each year. They are often angry and bewildered. They must use essential life skills to succeed on their own.
ARISE offers life-skills lessons that will help the at-risk youth in foster care and those that are aging out of foster care gain the skills to help them deal with life on their own.
View the following ARISE Specialized Curriculum Package for youth aging out of foster care: https://at-riskyouth.org/products/aging-out-of-foster-care