On Their Own: What Happens To Kids When They Age Out Of The Foster Care System [Hardcover]

Martha Shirk (Author), Gary Stangler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2004

Each year, as many as 25,000 teenagers "age out" of foster care, usually when they turn eighteen. For years, a government agency had made every important decision for them. Suddenly, they are on their own, with no one to count on. What does it mean to be eighteen and on your own, without the family support and personal connections that most young people rely on? For many youth raised in foster care, it means largely unhappy endings, including sudden homelessness, unemployment, dead-end jobs, loneliness, and despair. On Their Own tells the compelling stories of ten young people whose lives are full of promise, but who face economic and social barriers stemming from the disruptions of foster care. This book calls for action to provide youth in foster care the same opportunities on the road to adulthood that most of our youth take for granted-access to higher education, vocational training, medical care, housing, and relationships within their communities. On Their Own is meant to serve as a clarion call not only to policymakers, but to all Americans who care about the futures of our young people.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Foster care is designed to provide for children up until the age of 18, but what happens after that? Shirk and Stangler note in the introduction to their study that in today's society, young people don't tend to reach full maturity until their mid-twenties, and most children leaving foster care aren't even equipped with the basic tools (a high-school diploma, a driver's license or state ID, work experience) the average 18-year-old possesses. Shirk and Stangler examined several individual cases in various states to see how well the children faired. One chapter examines three brothers whose fates diverged: one is currently in jail for armed robbery, another died in a car crash, and the third is happily married with a new business. One young woman makes it through a series of foster homes and high schools to earn a hard-won college degree and a position as a teacher, while one young man yearns for a family but keeps running afoul of the law. Jimmy Carter provides the forward for this important and often heart-wrenching book. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"'On Their Own' is a much needed contribution to the discussion of our nation's foster care system." -- Mark Courtney, Director, Chapin Hall Center for Children

"'On Their Own' is a must-read account... for all Americans who care about children."

-- President Jimmy Carter -- From the Foreword by President Jimmy Carter

"...required reading for Nevada's lawmakers and anyone else who has a hand in foster care." -- Steve Kanigher -- Las Vegas Sun, October 1, 2004

"Shirk and Stangler have written a searing book...part solid journalism, part advocacy." -- Steve Weinberg, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 14, 2004

"This book is...noteworthy because of its specific recommendations for how we can do better for these young people." -- Marcia Robinson Lowry, Executive Director, Children's Rights

"With each captivating personal story, On Their Own gives a powerful account of the struggles youth go through..." -- LA Family Holiday Book Guide

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (August 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813341809
• ISBN-13: 978-0813341804
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #886,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Saddest Story, April 26, 2005

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Their Own: What Happens To Kids When They Age Out Of The Foster Care System (Hardcover)

What happens when Social Services fail you? And even though you've turned eighteen, or so it says on your birth certificate, you're still not ready for adulthood? Children in foster care face this dilemma daily, for as soon as they're 18, they're dumped from wherever it is that was paying for them to stay. The Williams brothers, three small boys, grew up tough, and in their different ways, Jermaine, Lamar and Jeffrey all tried to cope with a foster system that alternately coddled them and abused them. I was moved to tears by reading the account of Jermaine's last days on earth, simply written by ace reporter Martha Shirk. Happily, the other members of Jermaine's family are living still. Then there's Giselle, a promising young girl who unfortunately becomes prey to anorexia. All too soon, adulthood is upon her, while she's still struggling with a common problem of teenage girls. Liberals worry about these issues, while those of a more conservative bent argue that 18 is certainly old enough to expect a young man or woman to get out on his own and stop depending on charity or handouts. But Shirk and her co-author Stabgler admit there are no easy answers.

Anyone can read this book and identify with the ideas behind it, for in one way or another we are all affected by the problems of aging and by being forced by old Father Time into a realm we are really not prepared for. For these young people, it was turning 18. For some of us, it might be turning thirty. And for baby boomers, it will be the call of the retirement trumpet when, once so active, people born in the 1940s and 1950s will be put on the shelf in today's changing world, without sufficient preparation on how to live in that place of old age. Jimmy Carter contirbutes an elegant foreword that shows he has really thought about the problems of youth. That's the saddest story of all.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for novices to foster care system, October 18, 2005

By 

lulu (Western Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Their Own: What Happens To Kids When They Age Out Of The Foster Care System (Hardcover)

The interworkings of social services and esp. that of foster care are complex and take much to understand. On Their Own is written at a basic level so the general public can understand what is going on. I have been a mentor and advocate for foster children for a year now and found the book helpful and inspiring. The back part of the book has detailed information on what can be done to help this problem. Some of the kids I mentor will soon be turning 18 and this has allowed me some insight on what to do.

The book is amazing for someone who doesn't understand the foster care system. Even though I work with foster kids and understand some of the interworkings, it allowed me better understanding. I had my mom read the book as well. The forward by Jimmy Carter is amazing as well. Good read if you enjoy learning about social issues.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please read this book!!!, June 17, 2005

By 

Raquel T. (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Their Own: What Happens To Kids When They Age Out Of The Foster Care System (Hardcover)

I hope that you take time out to read this book. It focuses on the lives of youth who are in foster care and the challenges that we face when we emancipate from the foster care system. This book is great for people who work in the social services field, who work directly with foster youth, as well as the foster youth themselves. I am in it as well, please read my story... pg. 109