In the decade after high school, young people continue to rely on their families in many ways—sometimes for financial support, sometimes for help with child care, and sometimes for continued shelter. But what about those young people who confront special difficulties during this period, many of whom can count on little help from their families?

On Your Own Without a Net documents the special challenges facing seven vulnerable populations during the transition to adulthood: foster care youth, youth involved in the juvenile justice system, youth formerly in the criminal justice system, runaway and homeless youth, special education students, young people in the mental health system, and youth with physical disabilities. During adolescence, government programs have been a major part of their lives, yet eligibility for most programs typically ends between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. This critical volume shows the unfortunate repercussions of this termination of support and points out the issues that must be addressed to improve these young people’s chances of becoming successful adults. As a result, On Your Own Without a Net will find a welcome home on the desks of policy makers, educators of teens and young adults, and academics across the social sciences.

 

(Jane Knitzer, Jane Knitzer, Jul 20 2005 )

D. Wayne Osgood is a professor of crime, law, justice, and sociology in the Department of Sociology at Pennsylvania State University. E. Michael Foster is a professor of maternal and child health in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Constance Flanagan is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Pennsylvania State University. Gretchen R. Ruth is a research associate at Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago. 

 

Foreword

Michael S. Wald

Acknowledgments

 

1 Introduction: Why Focus on The Transition to Adulthood for Vulnerable Populations?

D. Wayne Osgood, E. Michael Foster, Constance Flanagan, and Gretchen R. Ruth

 

2 The Transition to Adulthood for Youth “Aging Out” of the Foster Care System

Mark E. Courtney and Darcy Hughes Heuring

 

3 The Transition to Adulthood for Adolescents in the Juvenile Justice System: A Developmental Perspective

He Len Chung, Michelle Little, and Laurence Steinberg

 

4 Policy and Program Perspectives on the Transition to Adulthood for Adolescents in the Juvenile Justice System

David M. Altschuler

 

5 Young Adults Reentering the Community from the Criminal Justice System: The Challenge of Becoming an Adult

Christopher Uggen and Sara Wakefield

 

6 Prisoner Reentry and the Pathways to Adulthood: Policy Perspectives

Jeremy Travis and Christy A. Visher

 

7 Homeless Youth and the Perilous Passage to Adulthood

John Hagan and Bill McCarthy

 

8 Transition for Young Adults Who Received Special Education Services as Adolescents: A Time of Challenge and Change

Phyllis Levine and Mary Wagner

 

9 Transition Experiences of Young Adults Who Received Special Education Services as Adolescents: A Matter of Policy

Phyllis Levine and Mary Wagner

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10 Risks along the Road to Adulthood: Challenges Faced by Youth with Serious Mental Disorders

J. Heidi Gralinski-Bakker, Stuart T. Hauser, Rebecca L. Billings, and Joseph P. Allen

 

11 Coping with Mental Health Problems in Young Adulthood: Diversity of Need and Uniformity of Programs

Phillip M. Lyons, Jr., and Gary B. Melton

 

12 Adolescents with Disabilities in Transition to Adulthood

Robert Wm. Blum

 

13 Youth with Special Health Care Needs and Disabilities in Transition to Adulthood

Patience Haydock White and Leslie Gallay

 

14 The Transition to Adulthood for Troubled Youth and Families: Common Themes and Future Directions

E. Michael Foster, Constance Flanagan, D. Wayne Osgood, and Gretchen R. Ruth

List of Contributors

Index