By Ginger Kadlec get free updates of new posts here.
Pick a child that represents the over 402,000 children in the foster care system as of the end of September 2013, and the child would be a…
9-year old white male,
More likely to be disabled than a child outside the system,
Working towards reunification with his family.
Foster care in America aids hundreds of thousands of children each year in need of housing and care. Foster care families around the country open their homes and their hearts to children in need. In fact, 184,000 households in the U.S. provided care for foster children according to the 2010 census.
Children in foster care have likely experienced some degree of trauma in their young lives. That trauma can come in many forms including maltreatment such as neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse. The America Society for the Positive Care of Children (American SPCC) notes that children and adolescents with foster care experience are diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) at twice the rate of U.S. war veterans.
While foster care does provide help for children in need, the end results leave much to be desired. As illustrated in this infographic provided by the Simmons School of Social Work, foster children are more likely to fall into adverse circumstances than the rest of the general population. For example, foster children are more likely to…
- Commit a crime
- Be homeless at some point within four years of leaving foster care
- Be unemployed
- Become addicted to alcohol or drugs
The foster care entry rate varies state by state, ranging anywhere from less than 1 in 1,000 children in Puerto Rico to 8 in 1,000 in West Virginia. This infographic offers a deeper glimpse into the facts of foster care in America:
Demystifying Foster Care, SocialWork@Simmons
You can help!
Good, solid families who are willing to be trained to understand and address issues related to childhood trauma and provide caring, loving homes are desperately needed for foster kids. The National Foster Parent Associationcelebrates that foster parenting is…
- A chance to make the world a better place — one child at a time (Gotta love that!)
- One of the most challenging steps you will take in your life
- One of the most rewarding opportunities for which you will ever volunteer
If you are interested in learning how you can make a difference in a child’s life by possibly becoming a foster parent, learn more at the National Foster Parent Association or contact your state’s Department of Child and Family Services.
About Ginger
Raising awareness of the world-wide epidemic of child abuse has become Ginger’s life mission. An impassioned child advocate, trainer, speaker, podcast host and trained child forensic interviewer, Ginger regularly blogs about child protection issues and has developed a FREE 3-Part Child Sexual Abuse Training Series for Parents ==>> click here to enroll in this FREE series. Along with her husband John and pets Lexi and Chase, Ginger enjoys traveling, skiing, hiking, brisk mornings, colorful sunsets and just hangin’ at home with “the Pack”.
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