Core Messages

National Foster Care Month Core Messages

THE MAGNITUDE:
Over 513,000 American children are in foster care because their own families are in crisis and unable to provide for their essential wellbeing. In addition, there are an estimated 12 million alumni of foster care in the U.S. representing all walks of life.

THE NEED:
No matter their age, all youth in foster care need a meaningful connection to a caring adult who becomes a supportive and lasting presence in their lives. Without families or stable relationships, too many of these formerly abused and neglected children and teens will end up facing life’s challenges all alone.

THE FACES OF FOSTER CARE:
Child welfare issues arise in families of every race, ethnicity, culture, and age group. Even though research shows that there is no difference in the incidence of abuse and neglect according to racial group, children of color comprise a disproportionate percentage of youth in foster care.

THE CONSEQUENCES:
Research shows that young people in foster care are far more likely than their peers in the general population to endure homelessness, poverty, compromised health, unemployment, incarceration and other adversities after they leave the foster care system.

THE PRIORITY:
Older youth are in most urgent need of attention. Nearly half of the young people in foster care are over the age of 10. Each year, more than 20,000 young Americans age out of foster care, most without the appropriate resources, skills or options they will need to live independently.

Nearly 14 million children will be confirmed as victims of abuse and neglect;
22,500 children will die of abuse or neglect, most before their fifth birthday;
9,000,000 more children children will experience the foster care system;
More than 300,000 children will age out of the foster care system, most without the support they need to become successful adults; and,
75,000 former foster youth, who aged out of the system, can expect to experience homelessness.

THE SOLUTION:
Children and youth in foster care are capable of overcoming the repercussions of previous abuse and neglect. Across the country, people just like you are serving as their foster parents, relative caregivers, mentors, advocates, social workers and volunteers. Thanks to these unsung heroes, many formerly abused or neglected children and teens will either safely reunite with their parents, be cared for by relatives, or be adopted by loving families.

THE CALL TO ACTION:
Most communities are urgently seeking many more everyday people to come forward for our nation’s most vulnerable children so they may realize their full potential.

No matter how much time you have to give, you have the power to do something positive that will change a lifetime for a young person in foster care.
May is National Foster Care Month. Now is the time to show we care.
Visit www.fostercaremonth.org to find out more about the many ways you can get involved and make a lasting difference for America’s children.