Half of foster teens become homeless

AUSTIN (KXAN) - According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, 50 percent of teenagers who age out of the foster care system in Texas wind up homeless.

It's a staggering statistic the Austin Children's Shelter is trying to change with a new program just launched.

It's a transitional living cottage for boys between the ages of 16 and 21 who are in the foster care system.

Since children older than age 7 have a harder time getting adopted, the cottage is providing a transitional living facility to try and break the cycle of homelessness for older kids.

"A lot of them have been removed from the home for a variety of reasons, mainly abuse and neglect, so they are very trauma-stricken," said Austin Children's Shelter team manager Jeff Necas.

Many times children and teens who wind up at the Austin Children's Shelter have lived in multiple foster homes.

"What we're trying to provide is that stability," said Necas. "We want our young men who are coming into this home to take ownership of it and look at it as their home. This is their place to live."

That is one purpose of the new transitional living cottage. This new home provides them a room of their own, laundry facilities, a kitchen and the opportunity to learn how to be a responsible, independent adult.

"We want to give them the tools and guide them to making a positive decision -- from conflict resolution, to seeking employment, to money management, to completing their education," said Necas.

The goal is to be a stepping stone to breaking the cycle of homelessness after the state stops providing foster care.

"This is just putting another resource out there that is available to them to kind of hinder that number of homelessness," said Necas.

This transitional living cottage also allows the teens to live here for several years if necessary.

Before, they could stay at the shelter for up to 90 days -- sometimes longer in emergency cases -- but they were typically transitioned to yet another foster home.

Stability is the key, and Austin Children's Shelter officials said they hope this will make a big difference .