Children in foster care face an array of daunting challenges as they grow up. They are more likely than other children to have physical and behavioral health problems and are more likely to be suspended, expelled, or drop out of school. In the Philadelphia Class of 2000, for example, 75 percent of high school students in foster care ultimately dropped out, much higher than the roughly 40 percent of the general student population who drop out. Those young people who stay in school are more likely to repeat a grade and have lower scores on standardized tests.

On average children remain in foster care for almost three years, and federal funding encourages their adoption. Yet some advocates believe that more effort should be made to reunite children with their families or support guardianship through kinship families.

Foster youth who age out of the system at age 18 when the government stops paying their foster family face their own set of barriers to making a successful transition to adulthood. These youth are more likely than other young adults to be emotionally disturbed, incarcerated, homeless, use illegal drugs, be unemployed, or become pregnant.

Through the work of its fellows, Stoneleigh Center is interested in helping to address these and other challenges facing children served by the child welfare system. One solution lies in bridging the boundaries between the child welfare system, education system, and physical and mental health providers to help these vulnerable kids get the services they need. There are many other possible solutions, and we award fellowships to talented individuals with innovative ideas of their own.