Foster Care Takes In A New Child Every Two Minutes?

Isabella Dakis highlights the need for change in the foster care system, which is broken and needs to be improved. With over 430,000 children and youth in the United States on any given day, a child enters foster care every 2 minutes. Each year, more than 260,000 children are removed from their homes and enter foster care. Most children enter with nothing but clothes on their backs, no change of clothes, shoes, toys, toiletries, or pictures. On average, a child stays in foster care for 2-3 years, and many end up in foster care.

Children in foster care are at risk for poor developmental outcomes, especially for infants. The Child Welfare reports that most cases of suspected abuse or neglect start with a report from someone. However, the system is severely broken, as it is not a temporary home for some children placed into the fostering system. A child in foster care may have multiple social workers, attorneys, and foster parents, but only one CASA/GAL.

A child in foster care may have multiple social workers, attorneys, and foster parents, but only one CASA/GAL. Every two minutes, a child enters foster care due to a traumatic event such as abuse, neglect, abandonment, or sudden parental abandonment. Six of children are placed in care at least once between birth and age 18.

Foster Love encourages everyone to join them in working to eliminate trash and improve the foster care system. By doing so, we can work together to bring comfort to children in foster care and strengthen our service for the most vulnerable among us.