Published By: © 2013 The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Every year, more than 26,000 young people age out of foster care, many with no permanent home and no parent to help them navigate the road to adulthood. For some young people, like Rivera, stolen identities and bad credit pose yet another obstacle on the road to independence. For youth who have faced years of instability and uncertainty, bad credit stands in the way of some basic life activities, such as renting an apartment, buying a car, getting a job, having a bank account or securing student loans.