Editorial: Resource shift will provide needed mentorship for foster kids
Most of us will do just about anything for our kids. We teach them right from wrong, show them the importance of education and prepare them for adulthood.
We support them in any way they need it. Our love for our kids is without limit.
But what of the kids who don't have such caring parents? Even the best of foster parents can do only so much for their charges. And once those foster kids turn 18, they're on their own as far as the state is concerned. The financial support evaporates. And unless they're being fostered by family members, the emotional support likely suffers, too.
The sad reality is that kids who age out of the foster care system are much more prone to homelessness or instability in their lives. They are less likely to go to college and get good health care and more likely to be unemployed and go to jail.
They - like most 18-year-olds - need mentors.
According to the National Foster Youth Institute, 25 percent of former foster kids experience homelessness within four years of aging out of the system. And 25 percent of kids who have been in foster care for two or more years are able to find permanent homes.
Enter Judson University in Elgin.
The Baptist university, which for seven years has been bringing big names to its annual World Leaders Forum, traditionally has used the proceeds from those symposiums to support entrepreneurial programs and initiatives and scholarships at the university.
Our Madhu Krishnamurthy wrote earlier this week that the university's leadership this year decided to change things up and launch a youth mentorship program for kids who age out of Illinois' foster care system.
"Illinois has one of the highest rates of youths aging out of the system," Judson President Gene Crume said.
Judson is coordinating this project in partnership with a Chicago-based nonprofit called Foster Progress.
The organization assists kids in foster care and afterward with getting a college education. It does so through financial support, scholarship assistance and lobbying.
But what's as important is the organization provides the mentorship and emotional support necessary for the transition to adulthood.
What a worthwhile effort for a segment of our society we don't think about often enough.
If you'd like to support Foster Progress through a donation or if you'd like to volunteer your time as a mentor, visit the organization's website at www.foster-progress.org.