CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Young people in Wyoming who have not been adopted officially age out of the foster-care system when they turn 18, joining 24,000 young adults nationally facing the same situation. They are expected to find a job and a place to live, among other challenges, without a safety net that typically comes with a forever family.

Donna Sheen, director of the Wyoming Children's Law Center, said the holiday season can be especially hard for young people being pushed out of the system.

"Well, I think it's a really lonely time, obviously, for those who don't have those support systems to turn to," Sheen pointed out. "We certainly know youth suicide rates in Wyoming are very high, and I think this is an especially dangerous time."

Sheen argued it is up to all Wyoming communities to check in on their youngest employees and neighbors. Ask if they have plans for the holidays, invite them to dinner, or help them plan an event they can share with close friends. For anyone experiencing feelings of crisis or suicidal thoughts, there are people standing by to listen and help at 1-800-273-TALK, or 1-800-273-8255.

Four in 10 young adults have experienced homelessness or incarceration within two to four years after leaving foster care, 46% did not graduate from high school, and more than half were unemployed.

Sheen noted, as with any 18-year-old, they can run into bumps, and without a support system, things can quickly fall apart.

"So you may have had a place to live at the beginning, but something happens," Sheen outlined. "You were late for rent, and all of a sudden you have no safety net anymore, and you're left out in the cold."

Many foster youths aging out of the system lack basic life skills, such as how to cook dinner for themselves or do laundry.

Sheen emphasized adult volunteers can make a big difference, by being a reliable voice on the telephone or making time to meet up for coffee. If a young person has one reliable and supportive adult in their life for one year or more, studies have shown their outcomes improve dramatically.

Students may be settled into their summer break - but in Minnesota, some remain focused on setting a peaceful tone ahead of their return to school this fall. Those involved with an emerging Minneapolis program hope it becomes a model elsewhere.

Through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant, the group Nonviolent Peaceforce has teamed up with the district for the Building Peaceful Schools project at two city high schools.

Student advisory groups work with peers and administrators on things such as relationship building and de-escalation.

Jassani Bland is a recent graduate of Roosevelt High School. She said she appreciated student-led discussions about certain scenarios, and gave examples.

"If your friend tells you they're going to be getting into a fight after school, are you going? Are you going to be the person that's recording?" said Bland. "And it created a big conversation, like, 'You're not a good friend if you're not going to be there for your best friend that's fighting. But then on the other hand, you're encouraging violence, you should be discouraging them.'"

She said having students lead the way allows peers to better understand each other's backgrounds, and how issues such as community violence factor into their lives.

Program leaders say after the July 4th holiday, they'll open a safe space for weekly discussions, while holding new training sessions. Others involved suggest additional grants would help to expand to other districts.

The project follows Minneapolis Public Schools' decision to no longer contract with the city's police department after George Floyd's murder.

Brandon Krona is the building peaceful schools project coordinator for Minneapolis Public Schools. He said some school resource officers were effective, but adds this new initiative puts students in the driver's seat.

"You're not going to be able to change everybody's opinion," said Krona. "But try to change minds and hearts eventually, and give these kids that opportunity to have a voice in what they want to see in their schools prevention-wise."

Sam Taitel, a program manager and community trainer for Nonviolent Peaceforce, said the project is a detour from bowing to personal pride and reputation amid tension within the student body.

"There are a lot of defense mechanisms to valid trauma," said Taitel, "and how to actually disrupt that cycle is difficult."

To get past that barrier, Taitel said students and staff are encouraged to show vulnerability.

National Foster Care Month in May celebrates Ohioans who care for children in times of crisis, and as the calendar turns, the focus shifts to an important objective.

June is National Reunification Month, which highlights bringing families back together.

Heather Mason, a foster parent in Lancaster, explained foster children need safety and stability.

"These kids need people besides them," Mason asserted. "They're just normal teenagers going through things and want normalcy. And we definitely try to help them with that."

Melanie Allen, director of Sandusky County Job and Family Services, said foster parents can help support visitation and mentor the children in their care.

"We believe in putting these children back home in a better type of setting," Allen emphasized. "We really have a great set of foster parents who can model and coach parents."

In 2021 about 4,500 Ohio children in the foster care system were successfully reunified with their birthparents.

Mason typically fosters teenagers, and acknowledged unfortunately reunification can be difficult. However, she tries to open up as many avenues as possible to help nurture relationships with biological families.

"One of our kiddos, her mom was in and out of drug rehab programs, and so we helped get her clothes, and foster that relationship between mom and daughter and try to show them that it can be different," Mason recounted.

Allen explained there are more kids coming into care with significant mental and behavioral health needs. But she added there are not enough treatment-level foster homes to help ease the transition from a group or residential placement.

"We have a very difficult time getting them to step down and get into a homelike setting," Mason noted. "And there's a huge need for that in order to improve their own outcomes when they do leave care, reunify home, or even emancipate to become successful."

About 12,000 of the children in the child welfare system in March were in family-based settings, with a quarter in treatment-level foster homes. Roughly 2,000 other youth were in congregate care, but advocates say more could be in treatment-level foster care if there were enough qualified individuals to take older children with behavioral challenges and work toward family reunification.

Michigan is taking steps to improve the child welfare system for National Foster Care Month.

In Michigan, nearly a quarter of young people who are in foster care at age 17 experience homelessness by the time they turn 19, and it jumps to about a third by 21. And unemployment rates for former foster youths are 2.5 times higher than the general youth population.

Demetrius Starling, executive director of the state's Children's Services Agency, said things such as wraparound and mental-health services have not always been available to families and kids in a timely manner.

"We're looking at permanency, we're looking at ways to wrap services around our families and communities and keep kids safely at home if at all possible," Starling explained. "But also, we're really looking to make sure that we keep siblings placed in foster care together, and also limit the time that children are spending in foster homes."

The steps build on reforms that have been in progress for more than a decade, after a national advocacy group filed a class-action lawsuit in 2006 alleging constitutional and federal law violations regarding permanency of foster placements, lack of proper medical and dental care and few supports for those aging out of the system. Since then, there have been multiple consent decrees to make improvements.

Starling added National Foster Care Month is also a time to encourage individuals and families to consider fostering a child.

"Michigan right now has approximately 10,500 children in foster care at any given time," Starling reported. "So we truly need foster families to keep these children safe, and to care for them until they can be returned to their family, which of course is our priority."

He noted people who are interested can call one of the state's foster-care navigators, at 855-MICH-KIDS. He said navigators are experienced in connecting potential foster families with the right agency and any guidance they may need.