Did you know that youth aging out of foster care...

Struggle Against the Odds:

Children who age out of foster care in Wisconsin are 12 times more likely to become homeless than other children.

Over 20 percent of these children report living in five or more places within 18 months of emancipation.

Over a third of emancipated children do not have a high school diploma or GED 12 to 18 months after their discharge from the system and less than one in ten attends college.

A significant portion of emancipated children report having unaddressed health care needs, problems in finding and maintaining employment and disrupted family relations.


Research Shows:


A study conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services on self-sufficiency among emancipated youth in Wisconsin found that 6,274 children exited out-of-home care between 1992 and 1998.

They were disproportinately male.

Two thirds were discharged at seventeen

Twenty percent were receiving services from Milwaukee County when they were emancipated

Many became parents at an early age, were homeless or landed in prison

A study by the Wisconsin Independent Living Advisory Committee found that these children were vulnerable to physical and sexual victimization, experience unemployment or underemployment, and utilize public assistance in higher proportions than do other children.

They Need Your Support:

Children who have lived under the protection of the foster care system become emancipated when they reach eighteen. Many of them, however, are not ready or prepared to live independently.

The adversity they have endured has taken a toll. They often lag behind their peers academically, have more physical and mental health issues and lack job skills.

Although the government has mandated programs to assist these children in their transition to independence, the numbers of children needing our assistance exceeds the resources that have been provided for their support.

The good news is that the Foster Youth Independence Center of Milwaukee can help these children complete their high school education, prepare for college, gain job readiness training, learn to budget and acquire many other skills necessary for living independently.

You can help out by clicking here to volunteer time or here to donate resources.