What Happens After Foster Care? A Look Behind the Curtain During Foster Care Awareness Month

Each May, Foster Care Awareness Month lifts up the stories of youth in foster care across the United States. But too often, it skips the most urgent question:

What happens when the system ends?

In Sacramento County alone, more than 170 teens age out of foster care every year. Within 18 months, nearly half will experience homelessness.

This is not about “kids in care.” This is about young adults who have already aged out; who followed every plan, graduated high school, did everything they were told, and still faced adulthood alone.

What happens when foster care ends?

Most foster youth want what any young person wants: a safe place to live, a pathway to college or career, and someone to call when things go wrong. But without a support system, even the basics become barriers:

• Fewer than 4% of California foster youth earn a college degree

• At age 24, aged-out youth in California earn just $690/month

• In Sacramento, 25% of unhoused adults once lived in foster care

“I’ve had to be my own support system,” one student shared. “And it’s exhausting.”

The AcademySTAY Solution

AcademySTAY interrupts this cycle by offering a stable foundation.

We provide transitional-aged foster youth with:

• Safe, affordable housing in North Sacramento

• Life skills training - from cooking to emotional wellness

• College and workforce readiness coaching

• Wraparound support rooted in trauma-informed care

This is not charity. It’s infrastructure. It’s what every young adult deserves when launching into the world.

Real Stories, Real Change

“I didn’t need someone to rescue me. I just needed a place to land.”

That’s how one of our students described her first night at AcademySTAY—after months of couch-surfing and keeping her belongings in a trash bag. Now she’s enrolled in community college, working part-time, and saving for her first car.

Another wrote:

“This is the support I’ve been searching for. I don’t want to be defined by my past. I just want the chance to build a better future.”

What Foster Care Awareness Month Should Be About

This month isn’t just about visibility—it’s about responsibility.

If we’re serious about supporting youth in foster care, we must also support them after care ends.

Because while the risks are high, they are not inevitable. Not when safe housing, community, and guidance are in place.

💙 Want to Help Youth Aging Out of Care?

✅ Make a gift: Support safe housing, skill-building, and mentorship

✅ Volunteer with us: Be the consistent adult who makes a difference

Every action counts. Every connection matters.

Together, we can change the story—for good.