Aging out is American popular culture vernacular used to describe any time a youth leaves a formal system of care designed to provide services below a certain age level.
There are a variety of applications of the phrase throughout the youth development field.[1] In respect to foster care, aging out is the process of a youth transitioning from the formal control of the foster care system towards independent living. It is used to describe anytime a foster youth leaves the varying factors of foster care, including home, school and financial systems.[2] The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services defines an "aging out" case as, "a situation referring to a person's petition to become a permanent legal resident as a child, and in the time that passes during the processing of the application, the child turns 18 and ages out.".[3]
- ^ Pittman, K. (1996) "Aging Out or Aging In?" Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Youth Today. January 1996. Retrieved 5/8/07.
- ^ (2006) Trial Home Visits in Relation to "Aging Out of Foster Care" 624-10-01-40-05. State of North Dakota. Retrieved 5/8/07.
- ^ (nd) [How Do I Prevent My Child From Losing Benefits at Age 21 ("Aging Out")?] United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved 5/8/07.