skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Alabama woman works to help returning citizens rebuild their lives; Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on healthcare, safety, wages; NC dentists warn of crisis due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Teamsters choose not to endorse a presidential candidate, county officials in Texas fight back against state moves to limit voter registration efforts, and the FBI investigate suspicious packages sent to elections offices in at least 17 states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Report: Nebraska Struggling to Help Foster Youths Transition to Adulthood

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 15, 2018   

LINCOLN, Neb. – Young adults who experienced foster care in Nebraska are struggling as they transition to adulthood, according to a new report from The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Rebecca Daugherty, an intern with Voices for Children in Nebraska, aged out of the state's foster care system, so she doesn't have a family to turn to for support.

She says the state needs to step up its efforts to help young people transition to living independently as an adult.

"At one point, I was working three jobs to try to keep safe and stable housing, and that made focusing on my classes really difficult, which is just an example of the difficulties that youths have to face once they've been in care and don't have those family supports," she relates.

Foster youths in Nebraska are less likely than their peers nationwide to have stable housing.

Fewer than 6 in 10 obtained their high school diploma or GED by age 21, compared with nearly 8 in 10 nationally.

Nebraska scored above average on providing vocational training and helping youths find jobs.

The state also does a good job overall placing youths in family-based settings, but the report found minority youths are far more likely to end up in group homes.

Jason Feldhaus, vice president of the Nebraska Children's Connected Youth Initiative, says because foster youths experience much greater instability during their adolescent years, they are at a disadvantage when it comes to long-term problem solving and building strong social bonds with adults when they transition out of foster care.

"They move from home to home to home, instability with their schools, instability with work life, instability with friends,” he points out. “And so they're constantly trying to redevelop surface relationships just to get through the day."

Feldhaus adds that although the state has made strides in improving outcomes for foster youths, there's still work to do.

He says Nebraska's policymakers can start by asking tough questions that will help improve the state's ability to collect and report child welfare data.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021