CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In addition to physical and emotional scars, foster children and those aging out of the system, often face a hidden host of financial, educational and legal problems that can become barriers from leading normal adult lives.

A new  Legal Aid Society of Cleveland fellow aims to help some of the region's most vulnerable navigate complex legal issues foisted upon them.

Danielle Godomski-Littleton's work will be funded jointly by the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation and  Washington D.C.-based Equal Justice Works.

She aims to step in and advocate for youth whose credit has been ruined by identity fraud.

She will help them stand up to landlords who may not be keeping their apartments in safe and healthy conditions.

And she will help them navigate their legal rights to housing, medical and other benefits.

Colleen Cotter, executive director at Legal Aid Society, said the project fits in with the agency's mission to secure justice for those who are vulnerable.

"There is no population more vulnerable than youth in or recently aged out of foster care," Cotter said. "  I believe that by engaging with these young adults we can serve as the pivot point in their lives.   We can show them that they have rights and give them a voice to enforce those rights."

In so many cases, Gadomski-Littleton said, just the paperwork involved with those issues can be so overwhelming that youths give up.

Sometimes that means going without insurance, or getting a utility turned on. Other times it can lead to homelessness.

Statistics kept by the  Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services show on average through October of this year more than 13 kids a month aged out of foster care - which amounts to more than 160 for the year.

Mary Louise Madigan, a spokeswoman for the agency, said those leaving foster care deal with the same hurdles that anyone moving into adulthood does - how to manage finances, housing and medical issues -- except with fewer supports and trustworthy adults in their lives.

Sometimes they also want to just get away from the system that has raised them and are hesitant to come back and ask for help.

Gadomski-Littleton said she will get referrals from independent living workers from the county agency and other community agencies that work with children in foster care or those about to leave county care.

"I hope to help them start with a more level playing field," she said.

In addition, Gadomski-Littleton will also advocate for children in foster care with special education and immigration issues.