A new law giving young adults in foster care the option of staying until age 21 goes into effect with the new year. Advocates say that reduces their chances of ending up homeless, jobless or in jail.
Just 30% of youth aging out of foster care will have graduated high school by age eighteen.
According to the Children's Home Society, 33% will be homeless within three years and 25% of the males will end up behind bars.Twenty-year-old Dewayne Knight says he's grateful for the extra time the new law allows.
“When I need help, I need help, because I’m still young", Knight said. "And not all the time that a 20-year-old like me know it all. You might think you know it all, but not all the time you know it all. So when you get that helping hand, just try to take advantage.”
The new law permits the youths to stay in a foster or group home until they graduate high school or earn a GED. Whether they choose to stay in foster care or leave it, they can always change their minds.