TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - In 2013, the Florida Legislature passed a law extending foster care from age 18 to 21 for youth aging out of the system who wanted to stay. However, some young adults may need more time in the system.
About 90 young adults in the foster system each year have major physical and mental disabilities that may hinder the ability to live on their own.
Alan Abramowitz, executive director of the state Guardian ad Litem program, is proposing a bill that would give those children public guardians.
Abramowitz says these young adults still need assistance, while having some rights. "So, they may still get to vote and may get to do other things, but the fact of the matter is some of these young adults need to have a guardian."
Children in foster care have higher rates of disability, both mental and physical, than the general population. Abramowitz says their disabilities may place in a vulnerable position that makes them dependent on others, in which someone may need to make decisions on their behalf.
