Foster Care

[4Rebekah]

Foster care is when children, infants to 21 years of age, are not able to live with their parents or families for many different reasons. They are sent to live with relatives, in shelters or with a foster family that will watch the child until they are able to be reunited with their parents. When a child is in the foster care system, sometimes they are allowed to have monitored visits with their family, depending on the situation. Children are able to leave the foster care system by going back to live with their biological parents, getting adopted, or aging out. Foster care is a safe place that these children are able to live in .

 

Every child that has been in foster care has had to experience some sort of trauma or loss. This trauma can affect different children in different ways. Some children become more rebellious, some become distant or detached, there are many different ways a child can react to trauma. 1 in 5 former foster kids end up being homeless at the age of 18 and there is a higher percentage for these children to end up in prison at some point. 70 percent of female foster kids get pregnant before they turn 21 years old. Being in foster care is very hard on a child and this will affect their future. Under 3 percent of former foster kids eventually get a college degree.

 

In 2020, there were 214,421 foster families in the U.S. This number dropped from what it was in 2019, which was 218,927 families. The number of foster families most likely dropped from 2020 to 2023. There are many more kids in need of a home in foster care, than there are homes for them to live in, with foster families. There are around 400,000 children that are in the foster care system in the U.S. The goal of a foster family is to care for them and give them lots of love. These children have been through many hard things and need a family that will be there for them and love them. 

 

When I am older I want to become a foster parent to help out children that need it. I think that it is important to help others in time of need. A child needs to have stability when they are growing up, it is crucial for their childhood.  My family is a foster family and I think that it is a good experience because you get to learn how to live with different chlidren that come from different cultures and different famlies. 

 

 

https://www.adoptuskids.org/meet-the-children/children-in-foster-care/about-the-children 

https://www.afs4kids.org/blog/living-after-foster-care-ends/#:~:text=Compared%20to%20their%20peers%2C%20former,obtain%20a%20college%20degree%20eventually. 

https://www.aecf.org/blog/what-is-foster-care 

https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/complex-trauma/effects 

https://www.fosterva.org/blog/how-many-foster-families-are-there-in-the-usa-want-to-know#:~:text=However%2C%20in%202021%20there%20were,school%20age%20to%20young%20adults. 

 

Would you ever become a foster parent?

 

Have you ever met anyone in the foster care system?

 

Do you think that more families should become foster families?

 

*Please do not use any names of people that are in foster care.

 

[5Annabelle]

I think there is a possibility that I would become a foster parent, but mainly for the older kids/teenagers. Although I do not know anyone in the foster care system, I know a few families that are foster families. I think it would be great if more families became foster families, as there are many kids who need homes.

[4Rebekah]

I agree with you, I think that many kids need a home where they can stay and be with a family that loves them and cares for them.

[4Grant]

I do not know anyone who has been in the foster care system, but I do know someone who has adopted foster children. I think that the number of foster parents or families is fine the way it is. Foster families help out kids who have had a troubled past. Bust some kids do not like the idea of being put into a new family causing them to run, or do something unwise. 

[7Kennedy]

I would consider being a foster care parent when I am older. I think it would be really awesome to give a child the oportunity to have a home and someone that cares about them. There are so many good kids out there that just want to be loved and I think being a foster parent would make a huge impact. 

[4Rebekah]

I agree, I think that there are many kids out there that are waiting for a home to live in and to be loved.

[5Mikayla]

I may consider being a foster parent when i am older. I think its an amazing thing that your family fosters kids. I think more people should look into foster care. My dads cousins had fostered 2 little boys and they adopted then after a few years. 

[6Anastacia]

I think that becoming a foster parent would be a great learning experience and help to the community. However, with what I want to do with my future, I'm not sure if I would have enough time to give a foster child the best possible care that they would need. I think that more people should become foster families because there are so many kids that need loving homes to grow up in and to be best prepared for their future. 

[4Rebekah]

I agree, I think that there needs to be more foster families but the kids also need to be in a home where they can get lots of attention and time.