Aged Out of Foster Care in St. Louis? You Can Ask to Come Back Until 21
Revised November 9, 2026
What support is available for youth aging out of foster care in St. Louis?
Health coverage, housing help, cash for school and a local person to call. If you left Children’s Division custody anytime from 30 days before your 18th birthday, you can keep MO HealthNet to age 26 regardless of income. The Older Youth Program serves ages 14 to 23, the ETV can pay up to $5,000 a year, and the St. Louis region’s Older Youth Transition Specialist answers at (314) 416-2730. The Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition is at (314) 367-8373.
Keep reading ↓The case closes. The caseworker who used to text you about appointments stops texting, and the number saved under her name turns into just a number. A lot of young people in St. Louis walk out of that week believing a door shut behind them for good.
It didn’t. Missouri law has a sentence almost nobody reads out loud that week. Under section 211.036, if you were released from Children’s Division custody and you are still under 21, the juvenile officer, the Children’s Division or you yourself may petition the court to return custody of you to the division until you are twenty-one years of age. You. Not only a caseworker, not only a lawyer. The person who left can ask to come back.
What support is available for youth aging out of foster care in St. Louis?
Health coverage, housing help, cash for school and a local person to call. If you left Children’s Division custody anytime from 30 days before your 18th birthday, you can keep MO HealthNet to age 26 regardless of income. The Older Youth Program serves ages 14 to 23, the ETV can pay up to $5,000 a year, and the St. Louis region’s Older Youth Transition Specialist answers at (314) 416-2730. The Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition is at (314) 367-8373.
Put the first number in your phone tonight, under a name you’ll recognize when you’re tired and it’s late: (314) 416-2730. The state lists it as the St. Louis Region contact, and it says plainly that if you are in the middle of a crisis, contact an Older Youth Transition Specialist for immediate help.
Going back into care before 21: how the petition works
Say you’re 19, the couch you’ve been sleeping on just went away, and you want the Children’s Division back in your corner. The law counts you if you were in the custody of the Children’s Division in foster care at any time in the two-year period before your 18th birthday. The petition goes to the court that had your case, the court in the county where you live now, or the court of an adjacent county.
The court considers your circumstances, whether the Children’s Division has services or programs in place that will help you move toward self-sufficiency, and whether you have the commitment to fully cooperate with the division on a case plan. Three things close the door outright: being committed to another agency’s custody, being under a legal guardianship, or having pled guilty to or been found guilty of a felony. You may ask the court to appoint you a guardian ad litem, and once you’re back, the court holds review hearings no less than once every six months. Call the Transition Specialist first and say the words “section 211.036.” It is a short conversation to start and a long one to skip.
The first paycheck won’t cost you your Medicaid
The first pay stub lands in an app or a folded envelope, and you read the number twice. Here is what that number can’t touch. Missouri’s Department of Social Services says a former foster youth who left Children’s Division custody anytime from 30 days before their 18th birthday, and who is under age 26, is automatically eligible for MO HealthNet coverage through Show Me Healthy Kids, regardless of income or assets. A first paycheck, a raise, money in a savings account: under Missouri’s rule, none of it counts against this coverage while you are under 26.
You can apply online or by calling 1-855-373-4636. Do it while you still have a caseworker to sit next to you through the forms. A prescription you can’t fill at 19 is a much colder problem than an application you finished at 17.
Keys that are yours: a furnished apartment, or a bed tonight
A key on your own ring, and behind the door, the state’s own list of what’s inside: a refrigerator, a stove, a bed, an oven, a table and chairs, with basic utilities like electricity and water. That is the stateThat is the Children’s Division’s Single/Scattered Site Apartment, part of its Transitional Living Program.rsquo;s Single/Scattered Site Apartment, part of its Transitional Living Program. If you are between 18 and 20 and working toward living on your own, Single/Scattered Site Apartments let you live alone in an apartment with support. Ask your Transition Specialist whether you qualify.
If the key is weeks away and you need a bed tonight, Covenant House Missouri on North Kingshighway is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for individuals age 16-24. Call (314) 351-4866 for bed availability, or 314-533-2241 for anything else. Its Genesis shelter has 20 beds for stays of up to 30 days, and its Transitional Living Program on the third floor houses youth for up to two years. Covenant House says it first meets immediate basic needs, such as food and clothing, before anyone talks about a plan.
A bed is only the start there. Covenant House lists individual and group therapy, on-site psychiatry appointments, a health clinic, education and employment support, and help with transportation and medication. Youth also learn everyday life skills: budgeting, laundry, cooking, conflict resolution and getting around on public transportation. Both of its programs practice open intake and housing first, which means no prerequisites to walk in. For the two-year program, intake runs through the St. Louis region’s Coordinated Entry process, so ask staff to start that assessment early.
For teens 11 through 20, Epworth’s Drop-In Center at 7520 Natural Bridge Road in Normandy is a safe space with hot meals and case management, at 314-222-4877. If tonight is the emergency, our guide to youth and teen emergency shelter in St. Louis lists faster options, and for the longer road see finding transitional housing in St. Louis.
When the rent, the bus or the babysitter is the emergency
Aftercare is available to help young adults leaving foster care. To use it, you must be between 18 and 23 and have left foster care on or after your 18th birthday. It can help with temporary funding for emergency or crisis needs, housing or room and board, school, job training, transportation and child care. The steps: fill out a Chafee Program Support Application, return it to your local Children’s Division office, and the Transition Specialist connects you with a local Chafee provider who builds a plan with you. All of it sits under the Older Youth Program, also called the Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood, which is open to anyone between the ages of 14 and 23 who is in Children’s Division custody or was at one time.
Covenant House Missouri
Address: 2727 N. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63113
Bed availability: (314) 351-4866
Other information: 314-533-2241
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ages 16-24.
Epworth Children & Family Services
Webster Groves Campus main line: 314-961-5718
Drop-In Center: 7520 Natural Bridge Road, Normandy, MO 63121; 314-222-4877
Website: epworth.org
Marygrove
Address: 2705 Mullanphy Lane, Florissant, MO 63031
Phone: (314) 830-6201
Website: marygrovechildren.org
Annie Malone Children & Family Services
Address: 2612 Annie Malone Dr., St. Louis, MO 63113
Phone: (314) 531-0120
Website: anniemalone.com
The tuition bill, and a clock nobody tells you about
The bill comes with a balance and a due date. The Educational and Training Voucher, run for the state by Foster Success, can pay up to $5,000 a year toward tuition and fees, room and board, a required computer, books, transportation and child care. Help is limited to a total of 5 years, up to your 26th birthday, and you reapply each semester.
To qualify, you need a high school diploma or equivalent, an acceptance to an accredited or pre-accredited public or non-profit college, vocational school or certified training program, and personal assets (bank account, car, home) worth no more than $10,000. If you are already in school, you need to keep making satisfactory progress, which the state describes as generally a C average. Ask your Transition Specialist for the application before the semester starts, not the week tuition is due.
Missouri Reach offers tuition and fee waivers for eligible students who are either currently in foster care or were in foster care at one time. You must apply and be accepted no later than three years after leaving care, three years after high school or the HiSet, or your 21st birthday, whichever is earliest. Once approved, you complete at least 100 hours of community service or a public internship each year you use the waiver.
Need a bed tonight, not a plan for next year? Start with these shelters.
The person on the other end of the phone
“She always helps me pick up my broken pieces.” One young person in the program said that about their Navigator, on the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition’s Older Youth Readiness page. The Navigator guides the young person through an assessment of needs and dreams, and together they write a Roadmap to Readiness. The program serves youth ages 16-24, with early support for ages 13-15, across St. Louis City, St. Louis County and nearby counties. The services it names include mental health, education, housing and employment. Call (314) 367-8373 and ask for Older Youth Readiness.
What to have ready for any of these calls: your date of birth, the county where your case was, the date you left care if you already have, and a phone number or email that will still work next month. If you don’t have a phone, give the number of a person you trust. Then write down the name of whoever answers. The next call goes faster when you can say who you spoke with.
If you’re the adult in this story
Maybe you’re the aunt, the coach or the neighbor this young person trusts, and you’re wondering whether your home could be the next one. In Missouri you must be at least 21 years of age, complete a child abuse/neglect check and criminal record check including fingerprints, be in good health, have a stable income, and complete a free training and assessment process. The background screening is free too. The state also says many people think you must be married or own your own home, and that is not the case. To start, access the Missouri Foster Parent Portal or call 800-554-2222. If you ever worry a child is being hurt, the Child Abuse or Neglect hotline is 800-392-3738.
Pick one agency and let its people walk you through the state process. If child care is part of your plan, see our guide to child care assistance in Missouri.
Missouri Children’s Division
Become a foster parent: 800-554-2222
Child Abuse or Neglect hotline: 800-392-3738
St. Louis region Older Youth Transition Specialist: (314) 416-2730
Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition
Address: 1220 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132
Phone: (314) 367-8373
Its Older Youth Readiness program serves youth ages 16-24, and ages 13-15 may get early support.
KVC Missouri, St. Louis/Webster Groves
Address: 330 North Gore Ave., St. Louis, MO 63119
Phone: (844) 424-3577
Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri
Phone: (314) 787-5100 (toll-free 866-326-5327)
Website: lfcsmo.org
Whether you are opening a home or leaving one, the next step is the same size: one call. For everything else a St. Louis neighbor might need, keep our guide to help and assistance across St. Louis close.
| ★ | Know someone turning 18 in care this year? Send them this page before the birthday, not after. The number that matters most is (314) 416-2730, and you can share it on Facebook so it reaches the people who need it. If you run a shelter, a mentoring program or a nonprofit that serves these young people, add it free on St Louis Near Me Directory so the next teen searching at midnight finds you. |
Frequently asked questions
What are the requirements to foster a child in Missouri?
In Missouri you must be at least 21 years of age, complete a child abuse/neglect check and criminal record check including fingerprints, be in good health, have a stable income, and complete a free training and assessment process. You do not have to be married or own your own home. To start, use the Missouri Foster Parent Portal or call 800-554-2222.
When can you move out of your parents' house in Missouri?
For a young person leaving foster care, it depends on the program. Aftercare help is for youth between 18 and 23 who left foster care on or after their 18th birthday, and Single/Scattered Site Apartments are for ages 18 to 20 working toward living on their own. Call the St. Louis region’s Older Youth Transition Specialist at (314) 416-2730 before you move.
Do foster parents go through background checks?
Yes. Missouri requires a child abuse/neglect check and criminal record check including fingerprints, and the state describes the child abuse and criminal background screening as free. It is part of applying for a foster parent license, along with a free training and assessment process. Call 800-554-2222 to ask how the screening works.
Do you get EBT for foster kids?
Do not plan your budget around one. Missouri lists a stable income among its requirements to become a foster parent, so the household has to stand on its own money first. Ask your licensing agency at placement what support comes with the child. If you are a young adult who aged out and need help yourself, Aftercare can help with temporary funding for emergency or crisis needs; start with (314) 416-2730.
How long can a former foster youth keep Medicaid in Missouri?
Until age 26. If you left Children’s Division custody anytime from 30 days before your 18th birthday and are under 26, you are automatically eligible for MO HealthNet coverage through Show Me Healthy Kids, regardless of income or assets. Apply online or call 1-855-373-4636.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.