But Dell Meriwether, DHS deputy commissioner for children and youth, said even after a former foster child turns 18, he or she wouldn't be excluded from other DHS services, such as transitional living programs available through the Office of Supportive Housing.
"We would advocate for him or any other youth who has been in foster care" or has been in an adoptive situation that didn't work out, Meriwether said.
He also noted that DHS operates an Achieving Independence Center, specifically for older youth who are about to leave traditional foster care.
The center, at 11th and Market streets, serves as a "one-stop shop for kids who are in foster care or have left DHS."
At the center, young people can learn about job readiness, take classes in resume writing and get assistance to further education.
DHS spokeswoman Alicia Taylor said 4,960 children are under DHS supervision. About 40 percent of them - or 2,159 - are "older youth" between the ages of 14 to 21, she said.
DHS and other child-welfare agencies nationwide have been "refocusing on teens in foster care" by trying to secure permanent housing, Meriwether said.
That means DHS is working to help kids 14 and older to be reunited with their families, adopted or placed into a permanent legal custodianship with a relative or family friend, he said.
Meriwether said DHS couldn't talk specifically about Rodriguez's case, but he said it is a misunderstanding to believe that any youth who turns 18 is no longer eligible for DHS services.
A program for teens in foster care - called "Subsidized Independent Living" - provides housing assistance until age 21. That is the program Owens, the counselor, said she had been told by DHS staffers that Rodriguez was not eligible for because he is older than 18.
DHS is also training special staff who will work only with older teenage foster youth.
"We always keep our focus on safety [of children in general], first and foremost," Meriwether said.
