Aging out of the child welfare system in Allegheny County: Descriptive analysis, challenges, and implications

National research indicates that 80 percent of youth in foster care leave the child welfare system within six months of their 18th birthday. The reasons for, and implications of, this statistic are myriad. While age 18 was considered at one time to be the age when adulthood began, the transition from childhood to adulthood in American life has become increasingly complex. Youth who age out of the system face ongoing challenges; on average, youth who age out of child welfare systems have lower levels of educational attainment and employment and higher levels of public assistance receipt, juvenile justice involvement, and material hardships than other youth. Programs permitting continued involvement in the system until the age of 21 are increasing in number and scope