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Aging Out Without a
Safety Net
Overview
Aging Out Without a Safety Net is a four-year project (2018 - 2022) funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada.
The project explores how transitioning to independence, also known as “aging out” of the child welfare system, affects the economic security of young women+.
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The project identifies barriers to economic security and includes policy and program recommendations to remove those barriers.
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Our project's intent is to involve and amplify the voices and experiences of young women+ across Canada who age out of the child welfare system.
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This project is comprised of the voices of 107 young women+ between the ages of 16-32. All participants are aging out, or have recently aged out, of the Canadian child welfare system.
Key Findings
89 %
experienced homelessness, both before and after aging out of the child welfare system.
$15,000
$20,000
is the median income bracket of the young women+ involved in our study.
They were more likely to be unemployed.
Young women+ earned half as much as their peers from the general population.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadian women earned between $30,000 - $40,000 in 2019.
63%
self-identified addictions or said they had abused substances.
76%
self-identified as living with a visible or invisible disAbility.
37%
experienced sexual assault; 23% reported they were a survivor of human trafficking.
66%
experienced early childhood adversity such as abuse, neglect, and interpersonal violence.
This rate is much higher than the general population and is known to have lifelong impacts on mental and physical health.
91%
self-reported mental health challenges, a rate much higher than the general population, despite the fact that mental health concerns are on the rise, particularly among young women.
80%
experienced involvement with the justice system; for 27%, that involvement included arrests or spending time in a youth or adult correctional facility.
Lived Experience of young women+ involved in
Aging Out Without a Safety Net project
Recommendations from young women+ involved in
Aging Out Without a Safety Net project
More information on our project and Journey Maps can be found below in the report
'Aging Out Without A Safety Net_Part 2'.
The report was conducted in partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Journey Maps created by the talented Amanda Lederle, an Inuit Artist residing in Canada.
Reports
Click on the images to read and download our reports
Digital Advocacy Videos
created by Young Women+ Who Have or are in the Process of Aging Out of the Canadian Child Welfare System
Aging Out Without a Safety Net National Symposium Panels
On October 27, 2021, CYPCC held a virtual symposium gathering child welfare stakeholders, provincial / territorial and federal policy makers, national partners, and young women+ who aged out of the child welfare system to discuss how to improve their socio-economic security.
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Please enjoy our symposium panels, which highlight the incredible voices of those trying to improve the lives of young women+ aging out of the child welfare system across Canada.
Ageing Out without A Safety Net Symposium
Our Hopes, Our Dreams
Panel Highlights
Making a Difference Panel Highlights
Beyond Housing panel Highlights