SAN LUIS OBISPO,
Calif. -- Foster youth who
age out of the system often end up homeless, unemployed or jailed.
One
foster care program in San Luis Obispo is hoping to change that.
When Jesse
Bartley was taken from her stepfather for abuse and neglect, all she had was a
trash bag full of clothes.
"Not having a stable environment and not having esteem," says Bartley.
"You let you grades slack. All the things that you need to prop yourself up can
fall through the cracks."
Her story reflects that of more
than 350 foster kids in San Luis Obispo County alone.
"There's a high rate of
unemployment and homelessness," says San Luis Obispo County Department Of Social
Services Foster Care Program Coordinator Katie Robinson."A lot of foster youth
have children at a young age and there's some statistics only two percent
actually graduate from college."
It wasn't until Jesse was placed into the foster care
program her life started to turn around. Now, she is a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
majoring in psychology and mentors other foster kids to find their way.
"I can give them guidance that they really need," says
Bartley. "Your adolescent years are so important to where you're going to go and
find your first steps out into the path you're going to make and I enjoy seeing
others succeed."
Bartley is expecting to graduate
Cal Poly in June.
About 4,000 children age out of
California foster care every year. Within a year and a half, half of them will
become homeless and about 51% will be unemployed.
