Former foster youth with disabilities describe how the system failed them

Former foster youth with disabilities are speaking publicly about their experiences within the foster care system, describing what they characterize as failures that shaped their time in care, according to NPR.

The accounts focus on the specific challenges faced by foster youth who also live with disabilities, a group that advocates say can face additional barriers in accessing appropriate support, services and placements while in the system.

NPR's report presents these as first-person accounts from people who went through foster care, though the specific details of each individual's story were not included in the excerpt available for this summary.

Foster care systems in the United States have faced longstanding scrutiny over outcomes for children with disabilities, including concerns about placement stability, access to specialized services, and the transition to adulthood for youth who age out of care.

The report is part of continuing coverage examining experiences within the child welfare system and the voices of those who have lived through it.