A Look at Foster Care in the U.S

More than 250,000 children in the U.S enter foster care every year. By this statistic, every four years, one million kids will go through the system. There are currently 500,000 children in the foster system in the United States. Meet the Children

Neglect and Abuse of our Children 60 children died in 2005 in foster homes in California. Between April 2005 and March of 2006, 13 children died while in state care in Arizona. Three children died in Texas caused by foster care givers in Eighty three children in Oregon foster care were victims of abuse or neglect in 2012.

The Number of Waiting Children Parental rights of more than 60 % of children in foster care have been terminated. Many of these children are in the system over 2 years before being placed in a home. 20,000 children age out of foster care at % are on there own, alone and homeless. 40% of people in homeless shelters are former foster children.

Child Neglect in the Foster Care System is an Issue That Needs to be Eradicated Statistics show that children in foster care are 3 times more likely to be abused. 28 percent are more likely to be sexually abused, especially in group homes. Children don’t survive. Why do states take these risk? Children are taken from homes where they are deemed as unsafe and placed in foster care, for their well-being. Yet, are these children really better off?

Effects Studies show that 30% of children in foster care systems have behavioral, emotional and developmental problems. Foster care children IQ’s are 20 points lower. Many teen suicides. Over 240,000 run away from foster homes.

The United States needs to do more to protect our children Need better screening of foster parents Unannounced visits from case workers. Need to provide more case workers for children. Verification of check-ups Monitoring of deaths of children in foster care.. Pay more attention to the children in foster care who have been in the system the longest.

Child Lost in the system Ashley Rhodes – Courter, Experienced foster care from the inside. Taken from mother at age 3 and placed in foster care. Spent 9 years of her life in foster care, in 14 different homes. Shuffled from school to school. Suffered mental and physical abuse from abusive foster family. Nationally acclaimed public speaker and child welfare advocate.

Conclusion The magnitude of neglect and abuse in foster care in the United States is startling. Foster care is a huge issue in this country and will continue to be a problem if we are unaware of the issues.

Works Cited The Children’s Advocacy Institute, University of San Diego School of Law. Rhodes-Courter, Ashley. “Three Little Words.