There are 408,425 children in foster care; over 360,000 are in foster family homes, group homes or child care institutions during the course of a year. These children face enormous challenges in getting the health and mental health care, education and other special services they need. Although foster care is intended to be temporary, many children stay in foster care for long periods of time. They move frequently from one temporary family home to another, often with little notice. Moves often mean having to adjusting to a new a neighborhood, school and friends among other things. Older foster youth without permanent families need help transitioning from foster care to adulthood, since they lack the supports families provide. Without help they are at increased risk of not graduating from high school or not enrolling in college, unemployment, incarceration and homelessness.
The youths pay and society pays when these youth are forced to leave foster care at age 18 without an education, connections to their families and communities, or the supports they need to succeed as adults. Desperate attention is needed for this population of Youth. We strive to help make a difference and make more people aware of their need for assistance.