May 7th was National Foster Care day, and it’s worth remembering both the adults who open their homes and the children who rely on strangers for a safe place to live.
It is very sad to think about children being in foster care, but at times it is actually a better situation than what they were in to begin with. A lot of times children are removed from their homes due to abuse and trauma in their daily lives. Neglect, followed by parental drug abuse is the number one reason that children must be removed from their homes. Sadly, removing a child from their home brings upon a whole new level of emotional, social and other challenges for them. This affects their mental health in a very negative way.
Over 437,000 children are in foster care in the United States. Of these, 45% of foster children, almost half, live in non-relative foster family homes, 32% live in relative foster family homes and 23% live in group homes.
Approximately 118,000 children in the United States are waiting to be adopted; unfortunately, this can take up to 3-4 years. The average time a child might stay in foster care is 12 to 20 months. Approximately 10% of children may spend more than 5 years in foster care. The average age of a foster child entering foster care is 7-8 years old. The average age of a foster child exiting foster care is 7-9 years old. Nearly 51% of children reunite with their parents or primary caregivers which is the best-case scenario. Nearly 52% of foster children are adopted by a foster parent.
This world is a sad place. Adults have to be better for our youth. Children need loving and caring parents.
