South Carolina Department of
Social Services
A University of South Carolina study shows, over a 24 month period, of youth who have left the foster care system:
33% had children.
56% returned to parents and/or relatives.
76% were not pursuing post secondary education.
59% were unemployed.
64%
left the foster care system with less than $100.
One
of the most pressing social problems in the South Carolina community involves
children who must live in foster care. An undesirable consequence of the
overburdened system is that you may remain in the foster care system until
adulthood and experiences less than positive outcomes. Some youth become
adults who dependent upon the public sector for assistance. In the worse
case scenario, you may be incarcerated, institutionalized, homeless, or
have your children placed in foster care. The University of South Carolina
conducted a study of the state’s youth who had left the foster care
system within the past twenty-four months and found that 33% had children,
56% had to return to parents and/or relatives due to lack of residential
options, 76% were pursuing post secondary education, 59% were unemployed,
and 64% left the foster care system with less than $100.
Coker College, the South Carolina Department of Social Services and the Foster Parent Association, in consultation with S. Graham & Associates of Chicago, have worked together for over fifteen months to complete an assessment and develop an intervention plan that increases the likelihood of a foster youth being able to realize their full potential and become self-sufficient and successful adults.
Coker College, the South Carolina Department of Social Services and the Foster Parent Association, in consultation with S. Graham & Associates of Chicago, have worked together for over fifteen months to complete an assessment and develop an intervention plan that increases the likelihood of a foster youth being able to realize their full potential and become self-sufficient and successful adults.
The
program will focuses on the individual needs of each involved Darlington
county foster child who is between the age of 13 and 21 years. A primary
consideration is the individuation of each child’s situation and
having the flexibility to creatively respond to a youth’s needs outside
"a cookie cutter" approach. The strategy consists of : (1)
personal development; (2) economic self-sufficiency; and (3) the development
of a positive support system for each youth. The activities of each
component are a "starting point" to provide an underpinning
for the goals which Coker and the community partners are to achieve.