Imagine growing up, always moving houses and families, always prone to drugs or neglect. This is the reality of countless foster kids well into adulthood. Without stability and a family to love, they are at a disadvantage and are proven to have less academic and career success. Kids aging out of foster care tend to have lower graduation rates and have difficulty finding a job. They are forced to navigate a constantly changing life, which can lead to negative outcomes such as homelessness, financial struggles, and social anxiety. Shockingly, as of 2023, over 225,000 teenagers have aged out of the system. Only half of these children are reunited with their parents, and this number has decreased since 2021. Only 37% of teens in foster care are …show more content…
Trauma, abuse, and neglect all play a role in shaping a child’s development and future. Unfortunately, statistics show that foster children have a lower high school graduation rate compared to non-foster children. It has been found that foster children are 40% less likely to graduate from high school (Four Year). This can be attributed to the instability and lack of support that foster children often experience. On average, children enter foster care at the age of 8, and the population is evenly split between boys and girls. This critical age should be seen as an opportunity to influence children toward their best future. Regardless of race or gender, children deserve equal opportunities to succeed ("The Failures''). Children who have experienced emotional and physical harm often lack positive precedents to go off of. While sexual abuse has decreased over time, neglect has only seen a 13% decrease ("Failure"). Neglect can go easily unnoticed and its symptoms, such as a lack of basic needs and emotional withdrawal, can be difficult to …show more content…
While steps are being made to make foster care simple and smooth, there are various types of placements the children are put into. Within the foster care system, there are different levels of care, with some being more detrimental than others. Emergency, long-term, and group homes are all common types of placements for children in foster care. In some cases, children may only need to stay in a temporary foster home while details are sorted out, resulting in a short stay in foster care. However, the length of time a child spends in foster care can also depend on the type of home they are placed in, whether it is short-term or long-term. Children from disadvantaged families may have longer reunification processes and require more financial assistance. Research has shown that children from low-income families often take longer to be reunited with their parents. This is because parents must demonstrate significant improvement and sobriety before their children can be returned to their care. Unfortunately, individuals with lower incomes and fewer opportunities may take longer to achieve reunification (Cancian et