New York City has never been a particularly easy place for
teenagers and young adults to break into the workforce. Even
during the boom years of the 2000s, the city’s unemployment
rate for teens between the ages of 16 and 19 hovered just under
20 percent. By the end of 2010, it had risen to 40 percent.
As shocking as these numbers are, however, young people
aging out of the city’s foster care system appear to be faring
even worse. Based on dozens of interviews with child welfare
practitioners across the five boroughs, we estimate that that
no more than half of the young people who have recently left
the foster care system have jobs at any given time. With nearly
1,000 foster youth aging out of the system every year, that
means that close to 500 young people each year are failing to
connect with the world of work