INTRODUCTION Can you take a minute and imagine what it would be like to be taken away from your family, friends, possibly out of the school you were attending, and everything you have ever known? Imagine leaving behind everything that was important to you, like the security of your family, your favorite blanket, or even your favorite stuffed animal that provided you comfort when times were tough. I know what this is like firsthand. Then think about being put into a home with a set of strangers who are now acting as your parents. This home is called a foster home and is part of the foster care system. The foster care system is a temporary arrangement that allows another adult to take over the care of a child whose biological family cannot look after the child any longer. Foster care is not a place for juvenile delinquents, it is a place for children whose biological parents can no longer for a wide array of different reasons can no longer care for them. Foster care is generally arranged by going through the court system and having the social services agency involved, however it can also be arranged within a family.
BACKGROUND
In the United States sadly hundreds of thousands of children are placed into the foster care system. On any given day, there are approximately 402,000 children living in foster care in the United States. In 2013 over 640,000 children had spent time in the foster care system. Most of these 640,000 children will spend at least two year in the foster care system. Of these children a small percentage will spend between three and five years in the system. Many people think that the children who enter the foster care system are very young, however the average age of a child in the foster care system is nine years old. In 2013 over half of the children in the foster care system were young people of color. “Twenty-four percent of children in the U.S. foster care are African American, double the percentage of African American children in the U.S, population” (Defending). Most children in the foster care system are able to live in a family setting, a substantial minority of about fourteen percent live in institutions or group homes. These group homes or institutions are not places that are nice to live in. You are living among many other children, in a group home it is usually ten to fifteen children and a continuous change of staff members, and in an institution there is a much larger number of children and many more staff members continuously changing. This is not a family style living, you share a room, typically the rooms only have beds, night tables, and closets, …show more content…
The percentage of youth that age out of foster care increased from eight percent in 2003, to ten percent in 2013. Youth who age out of foster care are less likely to graduate from high school and are also less likely to attend or graduate college. By age 26 around 80 percent of young people who aged out of the foster care system had earned at least a high school degree or GED compared to 94 percent in the overall population. By age 26 four percent of youth who aged out of foster care had earned a 4 year college degree, while 36 percent of youth in the overall population had done
BACKGROUND
In the United States sadly hundreds of thousands of children are placed into the foster care system. On any given day, there are approximately 402,000 children living in foster care in the United States. In 2013 over 640,000 children had spent time in the foster care system. Most of these 640,000 children will spend at least two year in the foster care system. Of these children a small percentage will spend between three and five years in the system. Many people think that the children who enter the foster care system are very young, however the average age of a child in the foster care system is nine years old. In 2013 over half of the children in the foster care system were young people of color. “Twenty-four percent of children in the U.S. foster care are African American, double the percentage of African American children in the U.S, population” (Defending). Most children in the foster care system are able to live in a family setting, a substantial minority of about fourteen percent live in institutions or group homes. These group homes or institutions are not places that are nice to live in. You are living among many other children, in a group home it is usually ten to fifteen children and a continuous change of staff members, and in an institution there is a much larger number of children and many more staff members continuously changing. This is not a family style living, you share a room, typically the rooms only have beds, night tables, and closets, …show more content…
The percentage of youth that age out of foster care increased from eight percent in 2003, to ten percent in 2013. Youth who age out of foster care are less likely to graduate from high school and are also less likely to attend or graduate college. By age 26 around 80 percent of young people who aged out of the foster care system had earned at least a high school degree or GED compared to 94 percent in the overall population. By age 26 four percent of youth who aged out of foster care had earned a 4 year college degree, while 36 percent of youth in the overall population had done