Today's THV Report

Ark. Foster Kids "Aging Out" And On Their Own

Many foster kids turn 18 without ever finding a permanent home, and that can have devastating consequences. The term being used is "aging out" of the system, and every year hundreds of kids leave the care of the state to tackle life on their own. At least one advocacy group fears many aren't prepared.

Tonika Carroll is beating the odds, working on a college degree, despite growing up without her mom and dad.

"Because of the things I went through in life, I suffered from it. But at the same time I overcame it because of the push I had from my grandmother," says Carroll.

At five-months-old DHS removed Carroll from her drug-addicted parents. As an African American child with a heart condition, Carroll fell into two groups DHS spokeperson Julie Munsell says are difficult to place, others include children 14 and older. "We go out and look for minority homes, and that can be very challenging," says Munsell.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Operations and Legal Director Jennifer Ferguson says many hard to place kids are "aging out", or turning 18 without ever being permanently placed with a family. "They're the ones that are much more likely to be homeless, to be parents at an early age, most of them lack a high school education and most of them when they age out are more likely to be involved in criminal activity," explains Ferguson.

In 2006 more than 200 Arkansas children "aged out" of the welfare system and less than 60 of them had their caregivers rights terminated, which has to be done before adoption.

“Because it's so low that causes concern, because the case isn't being worked enough to even see if that child can be placed in an adoptive home," says Ferguson.

Read the entire story here.....

See the video here.....