Please share posts that you like!


E-mail Me.
→  
Home
  ←

The Reality for Many Former Foster Children

Written by Rose M. Garland on 01.06.10

I wrote a long article about this for NewsBlaze, but I wanted to share some statistics with you that not many know. I used to follow the statistics pretty closely, but these sound about right. This is part of the article I sent them.

The statistics for children raised in foster care are staggering, and believe it or not, I believe they’ve improved significantly through the years. For example, when I was in foster care, programs like the ones the Annie E. Casey Foundation funds and supports were not available.

The statistics for former foster children are frightening (from 2006):
# 25% of former foster youth will be incarcerated within the first 2 years of emancipation.
# Former foster youth are found to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 2 times the level of U.S. war veterans.
# Forty-two percent (42%) of foster youth, including 60% of women, become parents within 2.5-4 years after exiting care.
# Parents with a history of foster care are almost twice as likely to see their own children placed in foster care or become homeless than parents without this history.
# Females in foster care are six times more likely than the general population to give birth before age 21.
# 1/3 of former foster youth have incomes at, or below, $6,000 per year, which is substantially below the federal poverty level of $7,890 for a single individual.
# 83% of foster children are held back by the third grade.
# 46% of former foster youth complete high school (compared to 84% of the general population)
# 70% of teens who emancipate from foster care report that they want to attend college, but less than 50% complete their high school graduation and fewer than 10% of who graduate from high school enroll and college, and of those less than 1% graduate from college.

Of course statistics vary, but when I think of ways that could make a big difference in combating homelessness, incarceration rates, teen pregnancy, etc, I often think that there would be a significant drop in all of these areas if we fixed the foster care system.

I know this is a departure from my usual blog style, but I wanted to share this with everyone and why I’m so passionate about these issues. I do wonder if we could change the foster care system if we could significantly help our country.

All best,

Rose

Print Friendly
(Any advice is purely the personal opinion of the author and should be summarily ignored.)
  • The Crow

    Tell me about it.
    I have spent most of my 56 years recovering from the first 15.
    And I don't do things by halves.
    10 years in a children's home, and 40 years to re-adjust.
    But the final result is worth the trauma, I guess. I have nothing to compare it to though.
    Sure do know myself well though :)

  • Helpful Elf

    Shocking statistics, but you're right to use this space and your power from within that, to highlight and raise awareness of this issue. I don't know the answers, but you have my support, if you choose to use your passion to improve the system.

  • Rose M. Garland

    The Crow: I understand exactly how you feel. There are scars that I have that will never go away. Did you know they've made a move in foster care to not let a child be in foster care for more than 2 years before being adopted or reunited with their families? I don't know if this actually happened or not, but when I was working to try to help 'fix' the system, it was something being discussed. For me, 9 years of abuse and terror wouldn't have happened for you, possibly 13 years. On the other hand, I think the experience makes us very unique. I am proud to call you kin. :)

  • Rose M. Garland

    Helpful Elf: Thank you. :) I don't have the answers either, and spent 5 years in futility. Unfortunately, I did learn, without a shadow of a doubt, that I cannot make a difference in big ways. I've learned that I CAN make a small difference in ways like this – and by being an example to those who are going through it now. That's the very best I can do. Thank you for your support! :)