Executive Order Forcing Homeless off America’s Streets

From the National Foster Youth Institute’s website: “The National Foster Youth Institute’s vision is that the child welfare system is transformed into a community of support centered on child well-being and lived experiences…”

 

“Each year, 20,000 young adults age out of foster care.

 

“Foster youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who are leaving or who have left the child welfare system are known as transition age youth (TAY). Life for a transition age youth is often two sides of the same coin. Too many begin their adult lives without resources, preparation, or guidance. Others may be able to tap into support systems that provide them with opportunities to to succeed. The latter is NFYI’s goal for everyone who has experience in child welfare — not just surviving the system, but getting the resources and support to thrive in foster care and beyond.

Entering adulthood and becoming independent is a challenge for most young people. No matter their circumstances, most young adults aren’t ready to be completely on their own at 18 or 21 — the ages of emancipation from foster care in most states. For TAY who have been in foster care, aging out without community support, housing, or a strategy for the future puts them in extremely vulnerable positions. One in five will become homeless after 18. Just half will be employed at the age of 24. According to iFoster, within four years of aging out, 50% of TAY have no earnings, and those who do make an average annual income of $7,500.

 

And 25% of foster youth will be in prison within two years of emancipation.

 

But there are policies and laws that, when implemented effectively, can ease the transition out of foster care and into the next phase in life. There are social workers who guide in planning for the future. There are mentors who guide inexperienced students through college. There are families that step up to help. And there are communities like the one we’re building at NFYI.

The former foster youth who work with NFYI are students, attorneys, first responders, stay-at-home parents, elected officials, small business owners, social workers, authors, food service workers, teachers. They’re LGBTQ, they’re immigrants, they’re Democrats, Republicans and Independents. They live in cities, suburbs, rural communities, and on reservations. Some are thriving financially and others are homeless.”

 

A lot of foster Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) and (international adopted adults) end up homeless!

 

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“An executive order Thursday calling on states and cities to end “endemic vagrancy” — and rehouse homeless people, including drug addicts and those suffering from mental problems, in “treatment centers.”

The order redirects federal funding to prioritize “shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment.”

“The overwhelming majority of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have a mental health disorder, or both,” the document says.

“The Federal Government and the States have spent tens of billions of dollars on failed programs that address homelessness but not its root causes, leaving other citizens vulnerable to public safety threats.”

“The order identifies “assisted outpatient treatment” as an option in addition to “institutional treatment.”

States and municipalities that already crack down on open illicit drug use and urban camping, loitering or squatting, and tracking sex offenders, will be prioritized for grants.”

“The Supreme Court ruled last year in a 6-3 decision that localities have a right to impose fines on homeless people who camp without permission on public property.”

Trump signs executive order forcing homeless off America’s streets

[NY Post 7/24/25 by Diana Nerozzi and Steven Nelson]

REFORM Puzzle Piece