New Mexico should support foster care through age 21

I AM WRITING to bring attention to a problem foster youth in New Mexico are facing. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 allows states to receive federal funding to allow youth to remain in care beyond age 18 until age 21. Twenty-five other states have taken advantage of this funding and have changed their state laws. It is time for New Mexico to follow suit.

Youth who age out of foster care face increased risk over their peers in the general public, including homelessness; lower levels of educational attainment; increased exposure to the criminal justice system; an inability to meet basic needs, including food and health care; and difficulty in gaining and maintaining employment.

By increasing the age in which youth are allowed to remain in foster care, we will increase their odds of achieving self-sufficiency as adults. It is our responsibility to take care of the most vulnerable in our society. Youth who emancipate out of foster care in New Mexico need our support. I urge you and your readers to contact your state representatives and encourage them to sponsor a bill to take advantage of The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 in New Mexico.

Together we can change the future for New Mexico youth who emancipate out of foster care. TRACY FAWVER Albuquerque