Takeaways:
- A proposed foster care change gives foster youth aged 16 and older a chance to choose their legal families.
- The initiative is designed to address the challenges faced by foster youth who age out of the system without establishing lasting family connections.
- The SOUL Family program introduces an unusual option that goes beyond traditional pathways like reintegration with biological parents, adoption or guardianship.
Kids who age out of foster care face a heightened risk of homelessness, unemployment, drug and drinking problems or stubborn mental health issues.
They leave the system with few close, personal connections. But Kansas is preparing for a drastic shift that would give them more say in their lives.
The state could be the first in the country to let older foster youth pick their families. A bill in the Legislature is proposing to add this new option, and it’s had broad bipartisan support in its short legislative journey.
Kansas does offer support to these kids, but those services can’t replace the close family connections most people inching toward their 20s can fall back on. They tend to feel lost and abandoned.