Black youth age out of foster care, face homelessness

State & National

Published Wednesday, March 19, 2025

By Freda Freeman, Correspondent

Mez Teague and his adoptive parents, Jerrie and Daniel Teague.

Daniel Mez Teague, 19, may have ended up on the streets if he hadn’t been adopted by his foster parents when he turned 18.

“Fifty percent become homeless after aging out. When you turn 18, you are essentially out on the street unless you have someone willing to keep you,” said Jerrie Teague, Mez’s adoptive mother.

Foster care advocates stress the critical need for foster care homes and the importance of providing youth with a home after they age out. Hundreds of Black and Brown youth are aging out of North Carolina’s foster care system; many find themselves homeless overnight.

About 1,500 youth aged out of the state foster care system from 2021 to 2024, according to state figures. Child welfare national data says about 19,000 youth left foster care in one year, as of April 2023, the most current reporting period.

National studies have shown that of the number of youth who aged out at 18, 40% were homeless, 40% were incarcerated, 40% experienced drug or alcohol abuse, 51% were unemployed and 84% became parents within two to four years.

In North Carolina, the Foster Care 18 to 21 Program, also known as Links, allows foster youth the option of signing an agreement with their foster parents to remain in the home until they turn 21. Extended foster care gives them more time to develop critical life skills, establish relationships, and build resources to help them succeed on their own.

Mez said he was blessed to find a home with Teague and her husband Daniel, of Burlington. Mez came to live with the Teagues at 16. He previously had been turned down by 25 families.

“After the first few days, it felt like I had landed in the right place. Honestly, it felt like I was home. I finally felt like I had people to lean on no matter what,” said Mez, who chose the name Daniel Mez when he was adopted.

The Teagues, who have one biological son, have been foster parents to 50 children over the last 11 years, adopting four.

“I always knew I wanted to help children, so we went into fostering. I’m a woman of faith, so I asked the Lord, I wanted to make a difference whether it was for a day or a lifetime. I knew I wanted to adopt and grow my family, but I also just wanted to help,” Teague said.

Half of the Teagues’ foster children were Black or Brown. “I’ve had a teenager from El Salvador. I currently have a teenager from Mexico. I currently have a teenager who is biracial. It doesn’t matter to me the race or culture; it’s whoever the Lord sees fit for me to take care of,” she continued.

Black children make up a disproportionate number of the children in foster care. They represented 14% of the total child population in the United States in 2022, yet were 23% of the children in foster care, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Center.

Teague is a regional leader with the Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina, which supports foster families through advocacy, guidance and resources. She helps recruit and train families.

“We need homes that are willing to take our Black and Brown children. We need homes that are willing to take our teenagers. These kids deserve to have families, they deserve to have a place to call home,” she said.

Gaile Osborne, FFA-NC executive director in Asheville, said the state had about 7,800 foster families before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the state Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees foster care, has lost more than 2,000 families over the last four years.

“Every month, we lose a few and we add a few, but at the end of the day, we’re losing more than we’re bringing in. We’re not even breaking even at this point, we’re still going in the hole, so the word ‘crisis’ is being used. We’re at a foster home crisis level,” Osborne said.

Even if people can’t become foster parents, Osborne said they can help in other ways. Neighbors, churches, and others in the community can help foster care families by mentoring a child, “adopting” a family at Christmas to give gifts, babysitting, cooking a meal or becoming a volunteer with county child welfare agencies.

Facing recent funding challenges, FFA has had to furlough team members who support foster families. It is seeking corporate sponsorships from businesses and organizations. Visit ffa-nc.org.