OVER 140 MILLION KIDS ARE CONSIDERED ORPHANS WORLDWIDE, WITH OVER 400,000 OF THESE CHILDREN LIVING IN AMERICA
Each year, over 250,000 children enter the U.S. child welfare system and over 23,000 children age out of foster care.
WHAT THEIR FUTURE HOLDS
- HUMAN TRAFFICKING: 70% of human trafficking victims in the U.S. spent time in foster care.
- INCARCERATION: In several states, 65% of inmates aged out of foster care.
- HOMELESSNESS: There are currently 2 million 18-24-year-olds living homeless in the U.S., many of whom spent time in foster care.
- PREGNANCY WITHIN A YEAR: 71% of young women become pregnant within one year of aging out of foster care.
THE NATIONAL AVERAGE OF FAMILIES WHO QUIT FOSTERING WITHIN THEIR FIRST YEAR IS ABOUT 50%.
That means we not only need to increase the number of families caring for vulnerable children, we also need to create support for these families so they can foster longer and stronger. (Promise686.com)
We recognize the child welfare system is faced with significant challenges, and foster parents might feel ill-equipped without access to adequate resources. Children in the child welfare system can still be experiencing symptoms related to past trauma or have a desire to return to biological families, even if those families aren’t allowed or prepared to take them back. Locally, some foster children have voiced their discouragement toward DHR, house rules, and preclusion from social interactions with friends. Often, foster children do more poorly in academic studies than their peers.