Former foster kids losing N.C. benefits
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
By Staff
ASHEVILLE — Manuel Bates wasn’t fortunate enough to be in foster care the day he turned 18.
Each year, more than 20,000 teens who turn 18 while in foster care in the United States can opt to remain in state custody and receive benefits such as tuition waivers, housing and training in life skills to help them succeed.
But teens who are not in state custody when they turn 18 are not eligible for these services, even if the Department of Social Services is involved with the family. As child-protection agencies across the country work harder to keep children with their families and out of foster care, more teenagers will fall into that gap.
The Department of Social Services provided assistance for Bates throughout his childhood, but he was not in foster care on his 18th birthday.
“I feel abandoned every day, but I try not to think about it too much,” Bates said. “I can make it worse or I can make it better. I want to make it better.”
Bates was abandoned by his mother at birth, taken in by a series of relatives during his childhood and in trouble by the time he was 8 for threatening a teacher. His adolescence was spent in and out of group homes and with his mother and other relatives. (more…)
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