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Just In Time For The Holidays 2025
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Insight Into the Intersection of Foster Care and Mental Health Awareness Month
There is a long, complex, and dysfunctional relationship between the two, and it is a sad truth that it’s virtually impossible to talk about foster care without mentioning mental health ~ Dr. Ault, Just in Time Mental Wellness Director
Just in Time Participants participate in group discussions at Just in Time’s Rise to Resilience Retreat focused on mental wellness.
May is both Foster Care and Mental Health Awareness month, and that should not be seen as a coincidence. There is a long, complex, and dysfunctional relationship between the two, and it is a sad truth that it’s virtually impossible to talk about foster care without mentioning mental health.
The firm reality of that statement should be a wake-up call. Unaddressed, these issues reverberate across our community feeding chronic poverty, incarceration, and a cycle of dependence for promising young people leaving the system.
As a Clinical Psychologist, I have spent more than 20 years working in diverse mental health settings. Despite this, I could not realize the scope (the absolute enormity of need) for mental health services among persons who had experienced foster care until recently, when I joined the nonprofit Just in Time For Foster Youth (JIT).
My role as a supervisor overseeing their mental wellness services has put me in a unique position to witness the intersection of foster care and mental health. And what I have seen cannot be unseen. Let me shine a light for you to see also.
In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of a mental health crisis affecting our nation’s youth. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, youth aged 18-25 were found to have the highest rates of both mild and serious mental illness as compared to all other adult age ranges.
Approximately 20% of all youth in the United States are dealing with a mental health issue. One in five. That is a high number. Too high. At the same time, these youth have the lowest rates of all when it comes to receiving treatment.
Clearly, young adults between the ages of 18-25 are vulnerable and in need of mental health resources but brace yourself – when we narrow the focus to youth who have experienced foster care that number becomes almost unfathomable – up to 80% of youth in foster care in California have a mental health issue.
I hope that figure alarms you and brings you pause – Four out of five youth in foster care are struggling with mental health-related concerns.
While most people are in agreement that, as a nation, we are a facing a mental health crisis, our foster youth are facing an emergency epidemic.
It’s easy to understand why foster youth have disproportionately higher rates of mental health issues. The majority have experienced a multitude of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), far above what is typical among the general population: physical and sexual abuse, neglect, parental and family loss, housing instability, exposure to violence, lack of basic resources, and higher rates of mental illness and incarceration within their families.
It has become a recognized fact that toxic stress arising from Adverse Childhood Experiences is correlated with poor physical health, mental health concerns, impaired brain development, and even earlier death.
As renowned Trauma Research Author Bessel van der Kolk M.D. makes clear in his book, The Body Keeps Score “The Ace Study has shown, child abuse and neglect is the single most preventable cause of mental illness, the single most common cause of drug and alcohol abuse, and a significant contributor to leading causes of death such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, and suicide.”
Dr. Jill Ault has been a licensed Psychologist since 2001, and is the director in charge of all mental wellness services at Just in Time.
Approximately 400,000 children are in foster care in our country and as they transition out of this system at the age of 18 most are left to navigate this path alone. Many of the former foster youth that Just in Time serve also grapple with the negative experience of court mandated mental health care or compulsory care thrust upon them by social services, making the decision to seek care even more complicated. Already at significantly higher risk of mental health concerns due to their higher levels of adverse experiences, and without the same degree of family and community support others possess, the road ahead is all the more challenging.
At Just In Time For Foster Youth, we recognize that the healing power of community is essential to mental wellbeing, and It is within this framework that we provide services to transition-aged foster youth.
By offering free and accessible mental wellness services to our participants when THEY make the decision to engage, we provide a framework for youth to dismantle the negative effects of past experiences on their bodies and minds. Most importantly, we provide the opportunity for youth to choose their path to mental wellness.
When young adults are given access and encouraged to receive trauma-informed treatment, we can expect transformative change to follow. By changing the way in which services are offered we have the potential to change the trajectory of lives which are at greater risk for incarceration, early pregnancy, homelessness, and mental illness.
Imagine the potential for significant impact if similar services were being offered to young people across the nation. It’s not difficult to do. With open eyes, we can clearly see the problems before us and with open hearts we can find ways to respond with a solution.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jill Ault, Psy.D.
Mental Wellness Supervisor, Just in Time for Foster Youth
