In her column on Michigan's foster care system and the problems facing youth who age out (leave foster care system at 18 years of age), Rochelle Riley refers to a survey released last month by Wayne State University's Research Group on Homelessness and Poverty. The survey revealed that more than 49 percent of the youth who aged out in 2002 and 2003 in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties were homeless at some point during their first three years on their own. The study also found that 25.4% were homeless immediately after aging out, while 36% had to return to the homes they were originally removed from; and 16.7% lived on the streets, in cars or in abandoned buildings.