“Some people with the worst pasts can create the best futures.”

Prominently displayed on the Idaho Youth Advisory Board's Facebook page, it's a sentiment Ricky Lewis, of Post Falls, relates to.

Lewis, 21, founded the board, a group comprising former and current foster youths who are working to improve life outcomes for Idaho youngsters in foster care.

Children in the Idaho foster care system age out at 18, which means unless these young adults and their foster families agree the care will continue until age 21, the young people have to move out.

Faced with the challenge of transitioning into adult independence with no family support, newly emancipated former foster youths frequently flounder in society. Lewis was still in high school when he was suddenly on his own.

“It was a hard struggle for me. I faced being homeless and needing a job while I was still in school,” Lewis said.

He graduated from high school in Lewiston and immediately entered Lewis-Clark State College. The first semester went well, but the challenges of everyday survival quickly overwhelmed him and he dropped out.

Lewis said he never learned the life skills he needed to be successful. He didn’t know how to handle money or manage a home.

“I wasn’t adulting correctly,” he said, and chuckled.

But he did make connections with other foster youths and the state agencies that serve them, and those contacts and experiences helped him learn the life skills he lacked.

He moved to Kootenai County a week ago, and plans to share what he has learned with other current and former foster kids.

“Lewiston is a good town, but I saw some open doors up here. There were more job opportunities, and I know there are a lot more opportunities here for me to help motivate foster parents to take in older teens,” Lewis said.

Lewis is now exploring ways to set up a system of transitional homes for young people who age out of foster care.

He is looking at grants and private funding for the housing which will be modeled after similar programs Lewis has seen in other states. Employment referral opportunities and other types of

support would be available. Rent would be charged, and some of the money would be returned to the former foster youths when they met their goals and moved out on their own. It would not be a government program.

Lewis would like to see transition homes — with room for 10 to 20 young adults — in several areas of the state.

The Idaho Youth Advisory Board was formed in 2012 when a large group of former and current foster youth were brought together by an agency exploring flaws in the system.

“We all found out we had a passion for trying to make the system better for youth,” Lewis said.

Idaho does have an Independent Living Program for foster children who are 15-21. Lewis said while that program is a good one that provides many services, former foster youths continue to need support beyond 21.

Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, said as of June 30 there were 1,291 foster kids in Idaho. There were 493 15- to 21-year-olds being served by the Independent Living Program during the last fiscal year.

“With the transitional housing, I want them to have a home they can go to and learn the things they need to be successful,” Lewis said. “I want there to be a safety net for the youth who don't have a choice in living with a foster family.”

Contact Maureen Dolan at [email protected].