Local business owner helps foster youth through Just in Time program

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – When a child in the foster care system turns 18, it’s referred to as “aging out.” Services are no longer available to that young person resulting in alarming statistics, including homelessness. One local business owner decided he could help change those numbers, one foster youth at a time.

The numbers are grim for young people aging out of foster care. One in three will become homeless during their first two years. Sixty percent of girls will become pregnant by 19. And 47 percent will become unemployed after leaving foster care.

Tom Tarantino, owner of Rovino the Eatery, decided he would combat the statistics by hiring foster youth through a program called Just in Time.

KUSI’s Ginger Jeffries tells their stories.