18 and on her own - Life after foster care

By Jacqueline Fell, Reporter
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 1:32 PM
13 News

ORLANDO- Jaleeca Dawkins is determined not to become a statistic.

She turned 18 in December, during her senior year of high school.

At first, she celebrated, but reality soon set in -- Jaleeca was on her own.

"The day I turned 18, I got my first rent notice," she said.

Jaleeca was in foster care for nearly five years. After living in an abusive home, then group and foster homes, shelters, and finally transitional housing at 18, she said she finally has a support system helping her grow up.

"You pay rent, you get your own room, you have cable and stuff like that," she told me. "You have a curfew. It's a big help for kids that are about to move out into their own apartment, so when they move, they'll know what to expect."

She still has to cook, go grocery shopping and pay her bills, all while trying to finish high school.

Jaleeca, though, is not your normal foster child. She's doing very well, but many others in her shoes are not as lucky. FULL STORY

It is good to see a kid from the system who has the ability to pull herself up by the bootstraps.  The system widely fails at teaching life skills.