Foster Children - Foster Kid Statistics Reveal Failure of Aging Out Preparations

Recently we shared foster care statistics about the fate of teens who age out of the system. Everyone is shocked when they hear that 90% of foster children who age out of the system become homeless or addicted to drugs, don't continue their education, or end up in prison all within just a two year period. Here are some of the comments we have received about these stats. "It's hideous to think...

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Foster Children - BBQ Sales Help Foster Kids

National foster kid statistics reveal that there are 400,000 children in U.S. foster care. Colorado is reported to have 4,000 foster children. With hundreds of these kids waiting to be adopted, one couple decided to take matters into their own hands, one bottle of BBQ sauce at a time. Alison and Andrew Wiltzius had adopted a little 22-month old boy who got the nickname "Bubba." The...

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Foster Kids - Burke County Non-Profit Putting on Fundraiser to Help Foster Children

Children in foster care are placed in either a kinship care home (with relatives), foster home or group home. No matter with whom they are living, foster children, like all kids, have lots of needs that go beyond having a place to sleep and food to eat. Foster youth usually have few changes of clothes and certainly not the latest hot sneakers, jeans or jackets. They also lack basic school...

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Foster Children - Foster Child's Birth Father Notified of Pending Adoption

Children enter foster care for a variety of reasons. The hope is that the foster kid will be returned to their parent(s) or placed with relatives. Sometimes a foster child is put up for adoption. At this point many state laws require that foster child agencies locate and serve papers to an absent parent letting them know of the pending adoption. This can be challenging when a parent lives outside...

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Foster Kids - Foster Children Helped by 8-Year-Old Birthday Girl

There are lots of stories every week about the plight of foster children. Many adults feel sadness but don't see how they can help. Leave it up to children who just go and make things happen. The title of this article says it all, "Spokane 8-year-old gives up birthday gifts to help foster kids." Reegan Welch got this idea of giving to foster kids because of a commercial. "Me and my parents...

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Foster Child - Adoption of Foster Kid Is Sometimes the Best Move

A primary aim of foster care is to get children out of the system as soon as possible, ideally back to their parent(s). Barring this, agencies look to have foster youth placed with relatives or non-related adults. Adoption is another option available for foster children. As much as we are an advocate for relative placement, there are times when adoption is a better outcome for a foster child. For...

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Foster Children - Foster Care Case Workers Don't Get Enough Respect

Lately we have been highlighting many of the deficiencies with the foster care system. Foster children are able to leave group homes or run away without anyone reporting them missing to the police. Foster kids are physically beaten, sexually abused and, in the worst cases, killed all while in foster care. Yet there is a group of professionals who do their utmost to help these children. Family...

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Foster Children - When Foster Care Works Against Foster Kids and Their Families

We posted some foster kid statistics recently and received many comments, mostly from people who were shocked by the numbers. One conversation went in a completely different direction. A woman wrote about her struggles to take in her nephews who are in foster care. This incident is one of many that brings to light disturbing undertones with the courts and the foster care system. Jane wrote: "I...

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Foster Children - Foster Child Reconnected with Birth Mother

Once a child enters foster care, agencies are mandated by federal law to search for relatives. These efforts can be 85% successful. However, despite best efforts, sometimes agencies simply cannot find any family members in the U.S. In these situations foster children can be at great risk of staying in the system years past the norm unless agencies get help. Children's Service Society of Wisconsin...

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Foster Children - Extending Foster Care in Ohio for Children Until 21

    Ohio is poised to become the next state to raise the age limit when foster children are forced out of foster care from 18 to 21. There are many reasons why this change will benefit foster kids although there are existing downsides as well. Several studies have highlighted the disastrous outcomes that 90% of foster kids experience who age out at 18: homelessness, incarceration,...

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