Another effort is exploring the feasibility of extending Medicaid benefits to 21 former foster children. As it is, when young adults leave state custody, their Medicaid benefit is terminated, unless they are eligible for another program that will cover their health-care costs until age 21.

Nationally, it is estimated 90 percent of former foster children lack health insurance coverage, yet the majority suffer medical or mental health problems.

"If your salary is $300, the idea of spending $75 on a prescription for a mental illness — well, you're probably not going to do it," Thompson said. "And you don't have a foster parent or a caseworker looking after you."

Barbara Feaster, a former foster child, said the effort will provide teenagers a "safe place to fall" when they age out of care.

"If you don't know what resources are available, yes, you're stranded," she said. "This is about bringing those resources together so that doesn't happen."

Feaster founded uFOSTERsuccess, an organization designed to offer support to fellow foster care children, and is an active part of Walker's initiative.

"These kids often don't have the family support and the same type of resources and opportunities other kids have," she said. "They shouldn't be left hanging."

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, which puts out the national 2004 Kids Count Essay, established a similar initiative that has been launched successfully in several cities, including Atlanta, Denver, Detroit and Portland, Maine. In Nashville, the effort included a suitcase drive to collect luggage for kids leaving care. It was so successful, excess suitcases were distributed to other cities and the program is now statewide.

Another foundation effort placed 340 youths in jobs with pay averaging $8 an hour in which 51 percent of the former foster children had health benefits.

Utah, which on average sees 250 foster care children age out of the system each year, wants to target recently retired seniors as mentors.

"We want these kids to take charge of their lives as much as possible, but it is clear that most 18-year-olds need more help than anyone anticipates," Thompson said. "These are wonderful kids who just need a break."

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E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com