FCYU-Feature Story

Getting What You Need
What your agency should be doing before you age out

By Alison

(Note: This column explains legal requirements for aging out in New York State. If you live outside New York, talk to your law guardian or social worker about how your state’s law is different.)

Aging out successfully is all about planning ahead—but you don’t have to plan alone. If your goal is “independent living,” the law says your agency has to do certain things to help you get ready to age out. But that doesn’t mean those things will happen automatically. Sometimes social workers and law guardians need a little reminding. If you’re close to 21, or you’re thinking of signing out of care, talk to your social worker and law guardian to make sure you’re on the right track. Here are some of the basics.

If you’re 14 or older:

If you’re between 14 and 20 years old, there are two main things your agency has to do to get you ready to age out. First, they have to give you the chance to take independent living skills classes. That means they have to give you formal training in areas like career counseling, apartment finding, budgeting, shopping, cooking and house cleaning. If you’re over 16 and you actively participate in these classes, the law says that your agency must give you between $20 and $40 every month.

The second thing your agency has to do is make sure that once you turn 16 you are either going to school or getting vocational training.

If you’re 18 or older, and want to sign yourself out of care:

In a lot of states, you have to leave foster care when you turn 18, but in New York, you can choose to stay in foster care until you turn 21. There are a lot of benefits to staying in care until age 21. But if you’re over 18 and want to leave foster care, ask about a trial discharge.

A trial discharge is like a rehearsal for leaving foster care. You live on your own, but your agency has to give you after-care services if you want them. That means your social worker will still call you to check up on you, and you can call your social worker if you need help finding a job or a place to live. Also, if you become homeless during trial discharge your agency has to help you find a place to live that isn’t a homeless shelter.

A trial discharge usually lasts six months, but it can last until you’re 21 if you and your agency agree that it should.

After your trial discharge, you’ll get a final discharge, which means you’re leaving care for good. Even after your final discharge, if you’re under 21 your agency will keep calling every month to check up on you, unless you ask them to stop. You can also call your agency and ask them to refer you to organizations that can give you services you might need—like help finding a job or a place to live. Once you ask for help, the law says your agency has to make sure that you actually do get help.

If you’re about to sign yourself out, or you’re 20 and about to age out:

Just before you leave care (whether on a trial discharge or a regular discharge), there are several things your agency has to do to get you ready.

First, and probably most important, the law says your agency has to make sure you have a place to live, and a “reasonable expectation” that you’ll be able to live at that place for at least a year after you leave care. That means your agency should help you:

1. Find a source of income (like a job or Social Security benefits) so you can pay rent.

2. Apply for a Section 8 voucher (Section 8 is a government program that will help pay the rent for private housing if you don’t have enough money).

3. Apply to live in public housing (from the New York City Housing Authority).

4. Apply for an ACS housing subsidy of up to $300 a month (if you’re under 21), or a special housing grant of up to $1,800 to help you with moving expenses or your security deposit.

Your agency cannot make you leave foster care if you don’t have a place to live. If you turn 21 and you have no place to live outside foster care, your law guardian can ask the family court to extend your stay in care until you do.

The law also says that your agency must make a list of the people who can help you out once you leave foster care, like family members and service providers in your community.

There are a few things that you should ask your social worker and law guardian to get for you, even though they aren’t required by law.

For instance, ACS has a policy (not a law) of giving $750 discharge grants.

Your agency should also make sure that you have health insurance or Medicaid, and it might be a good idea to schedule one last checkup before you leave care.

You will also need important documents like your birth certificate, Social Security card, state ID card or green card before you leave care, so make sure to ask your agency for those.

Not Getting What You Need?

If your agency isn’t doing these things for you, talk to your social worker. If that doesn’t work, talk to your law guardian or ACS caseworker, who can remind your agency about what they are required to do.

Your law guardian can also bring up any problems in court—the law says you have to have a permanency hearing every six months, which you should attend if you can.

After 21

So what happens after you age out? Unfortunately, once you turn 21, your law guardian, social worker and ACS caseworker are no longer legally required to help you get what you need. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you have a plan and that your workers are doing what they need to do for you before you age out.

If you’ve already turned 21 and you feel that ACS did not do everything it was required to do to help you age out (for example, you were discharged to a homeless shelter), you might be able to challenge ACS in what’s called a fair hearing. You can contact a legal services office for help with getting a fair hearing.

And if you’ve aged out and need services, don’t despair. There are lots of resources out there—you just need to go after them. Here are a few places to start.

New York City Resources:

www.youthcomm.org/pyayouth
A new website for young people aging out of foster care, full of stories, tips and resources for how to get a job, complete your education, find housing and much more.

www.lawyersforchildren.org
Check out their excellent handbook in aging out, under “Handbooks and Resources”

www.legal-aid.org/selfhelp
Answers to lots of legal questions on housing, employment and benefits issues.

The Next Generation Center:
718-589-4441
www.childrensaidsociety.org/nextgen
A drop-in center in the Bronx that can help you with housing, job readiness and more (for youth 14-24).

National Resources:

www.lawhelp.org
Information on finding legal help.

Alison is a law student in the Child Advocacy Clinic at Columbia University School of Law.