Cellphones Play a Vital Role for Youth in Foster Care
By Sara Tiano
In our increasingly digital world, it’s getting harder and harder to get by without a smartphone or access to the internet. This is true even for teens: From submitting homework and communicating with teachers to applying for after-school jobs, so many day-to-day tasks now happen online or through smartphone apps. But across the country, thousands of youth who are in foster care lack this vital connection.
Roughly 80% of children and teens in foster care don’t have access to a computer or the internet in their home, and few have a cellphone of their own according to iFoster, a Truckee, California-based nonprofit organization. In contrast, nine in 10 teenagers not in foster care have these resources. “Lacking access to cellphones and the internet poses tremendous barriers for young people in foster care,” said Jennifer Rodriguez, executive director of the Youth Law Center. “A smartphone is a gateway to education, employment, health care, legal support and social support.”
For such youth, the importance of digital connection runs deeper than for other teens. It facilitates visitation with parents when they can video chat. It allows them to maintain strong bonds with siblings they’re separated from, creating a way to chat throughout the day or send silly memes rather than limiting their communication to preplanned, monitored visits. It provides an opportunity to stay connected to friends and communities they’ve left behind amid moving homes, and can support a sense of normalcy and comfort. “We need a support system and ways to stay in touch,” said Sofia Kelly, a young adult formerly in foster care now living outside of Los Angeles.
“Having that contact with your friends is also good for people who struggle with mental health issues. Without having a stable way to communicate with others, that would make someone feel terrible.” Having a cellphone of their own can also help keep youth safe, according to foster parents, youth and professionals supporting them.
Steve Barger, who serves as a Court-appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, for a 13-year-old boy in American Canyon, California, said having a personal cellphone has allowed his client to access telehealth therapy and other resources that have helped him remain in his foster home through struggles that otherwise may have prevented him from doing so. “Even though he has a right to call me using the foster parents’ phone, it is not the same as immediate access via text, voice or even FaceTime. Now that he lives over an hour drive from my home, it has been a blessing for both of us to have this ‘lifeline,’” said Barger.
Phelan, California, foster parent Margaret Minierm said having a cellphone has kept the teen in her care safe from abuse while on visitations with biological family members, giving him the ability to contact her or take photos if needed. Young people and professionals also point to phones as vital support in moments of crisis — allowing teens to call 911 when they’re in trouble, or access emergency mental health support as and when needed. “It saves their lives,” said Serita Cox, executive director of iFoster. She’s heard from a youth who was saved from attempting suicide because he had a cellphone to call a crisis line.
While youth in California and other states have the right to accessible digital communication, that can mean a shared household phone or the right to borrow a foster parent’s phone. These may not be available in the crisis moment it’s needed the way a personal device would be, Cox explained. Getting smartphones and laptops into the hands of youth in foster care and young adults who have exited the system is one of the key programs at Cox’s organization. Through community surveys and thousands of direct suggestions submitted to their website each week, access to digital communication is by far the most common ask, she said. “Across the country, regardless of whether you asked a youth, a caregiver or an agency — from day one, that’s been the number one request. It continues to be the number one request,” said Cox.
In many states, if foster parents want to provide cellphones for kids in their care, they’re on the hook for the bill. On Reddit and other online forums, parents share tips on how they find affordable phone and service plans. Certain states or regions have programs in place that provide these vital resources to foster families and youth. In California, all youth in foster care aged 13 years and older are eligible to receive a free phone and monthly service plan through iFoster’s program.
The service plan provides unlimited calling and text, and a limited amount of data usage each month. Young adults in extended foster care are also eligible for the program through age 21. In other states, including Kentucky and Virginia, the local Medicaid program contracts with iFoster to provide phones to youth in foster care.
Community-based programs in other regions also offer cellphones to participants. In San Antonio, Texas, for example, an organization called the THRU Project offers phones and service plans to youth participating in their mentoring program, which is open to teens and young adults aged 14 through 25 who are currently or were formerly in foster care. To be eligible for their phone program, youth must be actively working with a mentor for at least three months. They’ve found having a cellphone is particularly important for youth preparing to leave the system and transition into independent adulthood. “Limited access to technology not only hampers a youth’s ability to grow and maintain stable connections, but it also affects their desire to stay updated, consume information, find employment, successfully participate in education, and access important resources to plan for their future,” the THRU Project states on its website.
Some child welfare agencies may also provide families with funding for a cellphone for youth in care, or for foster parents and kinship caregivers. This is because the federal government has deemed smartphones an “allowable expense” if having one will help children and teens participate in services and case management. For families that don’t have a community-based organization in their area providing this service or access through their child welfare system, the federal LifeLine program may be an option. It provides phones to low-income individuals; youth in foster care who are Medicaid recipients are likely eligible.
For this program, caregivers would have to apply on their child’s behalf, as applicants must be at least 18 years old. Families are limited to just one LifeLine phone per household, and are required to recertify their eligibility annually. To learn more, visit lifelinesupport.org. Also check out the sidebar for more details on each of the above-mentioned resources that are available to resource parents and kids in foster care across the country.
Sara Tiano is a senior reporter for The Imprint.
RESOURCES THAT HELP BRIDGE THE DIGITAL GAP
- iFoster is a national nonprofit serving 89,000 members in all 50 states. Among other programs, they help foster families and youth access cellphones, laptops and the internet. CHECK OUT: www.ifoster.org
- Casey Family Programs provides information on the “digital divide” and how foster families can help youth in their care access digital communication. CHECK OUT: https://www.casey.org/technology-resources-list/
- The federal LifeLine program provides free cellphones and service plans to low-income Americans, and foster youth can be eligible. CHECK OUT: bit.ly/3F1EvMW