{"product_id":"9780813540153","title":"Beyond The Foster Care System: The Future for Teens","description":"\u003cp\u003eEach year tens of thousands of teenagers are released from the foster  care system in the United States without high school degrees or strong  family relationships. Two to four years after discharge, half of these  young people still do not have either a high school diploma or  equivalency degree, and fewer than ten percent enter college. Nearly a  third end up on public assistance within fifteen months, and eventually  more than a third will be arrested or convicted of a crime.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this richly detailed and often surprising exploration of the foster  care system, Betsy Krebs and Paul Pitcoff argue that the existing  structure sets kids up to fail by inadequately preparing them for adult  life. Foster care programs traditionally emphasize goals of reuniting  children with family or placing children into adoptive homes. But  neither of these outcomes is likely for adolescents. Krebs and Pitcoff  contend that the primary goal of foster care for teenagers should be  rigorous preparation for a fully productive adult life and that the  standard life skills curriculum is woefully inadequate for this purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors, who together cofounded the Youth Advocacy Center in New  York City, draw on their fifteen years of experience working with teens  and the foster care system to introduce new ways to teach teens to be  responsible for themselves and to identify and develop their potential.  They also explore what sorts of resources-legal, financial, and  human-will need to come from inside and outside the system to more fully  humanize the practice of foster care. Ultimately, Krebs and Pitcoff  argue that change must involve the participation of caring communities  of volunteers who want to see disadvantaged youth succeed as well as  developing methods to empower teens to take control of their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBringing together a series of inspiring, real-life accounts, Beyond the  Foster Care System introduces readers to a number of dynamic young  people who have participated in the Youth Advocacy Center's programs and  who have gone on to apply these lessons to other areas of life. Their  stories demonstrate that more successful alternatives to the standard  way of providing foster care are not only imaginable, but possible. With  the practical improvements Krebs and Pitcoff outline, teens can learn  the skills of effective self-advocacy, become better prepared for the  transition to full independence, and avoid becoming the statistics that  foster care has so often produced in the past.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rutgers University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47129378324720,"sku":"9780813540153","price":25.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780813540153_p0.jpg?v=1763738687","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780813540153","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}