This is an example of a single mother who had grown up under the child-welfare system, but no longer has the support of that system or of her own family.
Without some kind of support, Phinisee will likely continue facing obstacles even though she has been trying to succeed on her own.
Joan L. Benso, president and chief executive officer of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, a statewide child-advocacy group, said, "This is sort of a classic story, that she's aged out [of the DHS system] and she has nowhere to go. Her struggles would be monumental for any 24-year-old."
In Phinisee's case, without a traditional nuclear family to lean on for support, "she's alone," Benso said.
Chuck Williams, an assistant clinical professor at Drexel University's School of Education, can relate to Phinisee's situation. He lived part of his childhood in the DHS system, and then aged out without being adopted.
"You try to muddle your way through this life," Williams said. "We all do to try to make sense of it. You're trying to deal with it emotionally."
But with young adults who have been in the child-welfare system, there's the added challenge of having come from a background that involved some sort of abuse, he said.
At a point when Phinisee's still transitioning to adulthood, "people don't see you as a child anymore," Williams said. "They see you as an adult. That creates pressure on anyone. . . . You face all these challenges on your own."
