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The statistics in the foster care system are staggering and speak volumes about the need for reform, support, and more collaboration between agency partners to help get these children eligible for adoption into forever homes and improve outcomes for those awaiting re-unification and other permanency outcomes.

The U.S. Foster Care System

These reasons include physical, emotional and sexual abuse, parent incarceration or substance abuse and parent abandonment or death.

The most common reason and possibly the most significant reason children are removed from the home is neglect at 76% nationally (AECF.org)

Children are removed from their homes and enter foster care for a variety of reasons.

There are nearly 500,000 children in The U.S. Foster Care System.

Approx. 120,000 of these children are eligible for adoption, meaning the courts have terminated the parental rights. These kids are never going home. At 18, they will age out of the system.

2/3 of foster kids have siblings in foster care. 75% of siblings in foster care are separated.

Foster children live in group homes or are shuffled home-to-home. Many move 10 or more times by age 12.

Foster children are diagnosed twice as often with PTSD than veterans.

Less than 50% of teens in traditional foster care graduate high school; 86% of teens graduate high school nationally.

Approximately 50% of kids that age out of foster care end up homeless, incarcerated, abusing substances, or government-dependent.

Nearly 20 percent of all children nationwide are on prescription medication and this statistic jumps to a dramatic 80 percent among the foster care population.

The Statistics

If we don’t make significant changes, sadly these statistics will remain the same or likely get worse if past decades are an indicator. It will take all stakeholders working collectively with all the research, knowledge, wisdom, solutions, influence, decision making power we have all gained through all our years of dedication to these most vulnerable children who are often overlooked for “cooler” more popular causes.

We must rally together on their behalf and apply modern solutions to truly create systemic change that is long overdue. If we do not make smart bold changes, we will continue losing caseworkers, continue losing families and individuals hoping for a child to complete their family.

The cycle will continue to repeat as it has decade after decade as 50% of children who age out of the system will end up homeless, incarcerated, with substance abuse issues, or government dependent or repeat the cycle of teenage pregnancy creating a generational cycle. (Source: Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute). Foster children that have aged out of the system are diagnosed twice as often with PTSD than veterans contributing to the growing mental health issues society is facing. (Source: safy.org).

We must all do better by these children.

To do our part, our 3-Phase Plan gets children to safety and creates the conditions for them to thrive.

First by getting more of those eligible, adopted into safe loving homes. Our Multi-media Campaign, Bridge Program and Matching Tech do much to accomplish that goal.

Secondly, by keeping better track of those that remain in the system with “real time” data through our Matching Tech which includes Partner Portals and custom dashboards for various stakeholders to match their goals and needs.

Additionally by scaling the House Parent Model in Phase 3, we not only protect more children, we create a world of possibility for them.

Our Pilot Program will serve as a model for the state of Pennsylvania and ultimately The Country.