January 2001 | |||
Older Adolescents and Homelessness-- An Invisible Problem There are approximately 13,000 homeless youth in the state of New Jersey. This group is comprised of individuals aging out of foster care, those leaving the juvenile justice system, and those who are on the street for a variety of reasons (orphans, victims of emotion or sexual abuse, etc.) who have no where to else go. For the most part, there is an absence of data available that could feed into continuum of care or consolidated plans. Thus, few housing options exist for this nearly invisible population. Former CB Dennis Derryck organized the first intergovernmental working group in New Jersey to focus on this issue. The partnership included the State of New Jersey’s Departments of Community Affairs, Labor and Youth and Family Services, the Juvenile Justice Commission and the Garden State Coalition for Youth and Family Concerns and 35 other youth service providers. The group concentrated its efforts in two areas: surveying homeless youth to learn more about their characteristics and seeking financial resources. In community consultations, Community Builders encouraged cities to look at this particular population as a distinct group and found that it was not included in their discussion of community needs. The partnership’s efforts increased public awareness about what happens to youth who are thrown out of government support systems like foster care when they turn 18. There was a feature article about the problem in the New York Times. More importantly, New Jersey adopted the Homeless Youth Act in 2000 which eliminates legal barriers preventing homeless youth from accessing shelters and crisis intervention services. With Dennis Derryck’s departure from the Department, Community Builder Diane Johnson now represents the New Jersey State Office as an active member of the Garden State Coalition for Youth and Family Concerns Bridges to Independence Task Force. Mrs. Johnson has also pursued a partnership with HHS and the state of New Jersey to explore ways to help these "aged out" youth to continue with health coverage through Medicaid until they are 22. | |||
