Synopsis

On Their Own tells the compelling stories of ten young people whose lives are full of promise, but who face economic and social barriers stemming from the disruptions of foster care. This book calls for action to provide youth in foster care the same opportunities on the road to adulthood that most of our youth take for granted--access to higher education, vocational training, medical care, housing, and relationships within their communities. On Their Own is meant to serve as a clarion call not only to policymakers, but to all Americans who care about the future of our young people.

KLIATT - Nola Theiss

This is an excellent book for those who want to know more about our deplorable foster care system, especially the end game aspect—aging out. Stangler has worked with foster children in Missouri for many years and is now the executive director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, one of the leading agencies for aging-out children. Shirk is a reporter on children's issues. Together they write a compelling introduction to the problem of a system that poorly cares for children under 18 in the foster care system and deserts them at too young an age. Jimmy Carter's foreword compares the poverty and lack of opportunity these kids face with situations in third world countries. The ten case studies of young adults on their own are occasionally uplifting as a few manage to succeed in spite of the system, but are generally frustrating and sad, concerning young people who are struggling against odds most well-educated adults would find difficult to surmount. Some of these kids have lost the struggle altogether, but their stories prove that some can be saved. The epilogue astutely summarizes the issues and problems our system needs to overcome and is followed by appendixes of charts and tables of statistics, resources, notes, and references. Included in the epilogue is a follow-up on the fate of the kids described in the book in the two years between the publication of the hardcover and the paperback edition.

Biography

Martha Shirk spent twenty-three years as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where she wrote extensively about children's issues. She lives in Palo Alto, California.