More kids end up homeless after released from state care, report finds

Young people living on the street with no home and support system after exiting some form of state funded care is heartbreaking. It's a problem so prevalent that state lawmakers passed a law to address it.

The law passed in 2018 (RCW 43.330.720) says that any unaccompanied youth discharged from a publicly funded system of care be placed into safe and stable housing by January 1, 2021.

Seven out of 10 young people released from state-funded programs in 2015 came out of behavioral health, according to a new state report. The rest came from criminal justice or child welfare.

Regardless of which system they exited, one year later across the board, more than one quarter of them did not have stable housing. The highest percentage, more than one third to be exact, came out of the criminal justice system.

This puts them at significant risk for physical assault, sexual assault, robbery and sexual and commercial victimization, the report says.

Young people need skills to make the transition, how to handle money, conflict management, rental experience, goal setting, cooking, and other basic skills to be on their own.

Unstable housing, this new report found, can also affect brain development causing adverse mental and physical health conditions with long lasting impacts.

Numbers from two counties in 2014 show close to 700 kids in detention had no parent willing or able to pick them up.

To help kids avoid unstable housing situations, the report recommends $1 million a year for shelter beds for 16 and 17 year olds. Plus, $400,000 for rental assistance for 18 to 24 year olds.

And in addition to housing help, this new report recommends a three pronged approach;

1. Modify the system to improve outcomes for young people through better transition planning and support before they exit a program.
2. Create community connections and develop resources to support the needs of young adults when they transition from systems to communities.
3. Develop and implement housing that meets the different needs of system-involved youth that include varying levels of supportive services.

Many more details are contained in the full report: Improving Stability for Youth Exiting Systems of Care