To tell you the truth, I was shocked. With the addition of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 2007 I was hoping that statistics would have been reversed. But this is not the case. Instead, the percentage of kids aging out has grown.
We have to do better than this. We have to find families for children -- even the most disturbed ones --that will make that commitment to kids that they need, regardless of the behavior of the child. States need to provide assurance that families will not come to financial or social ruin if their children need residential treatment or congregate care. Because whether a teenager is living in a family setting or in a facility, they still need advocates.
We're doing our best, but statistics are showing that our best isn't good enough and we have to do better because statistics are so troubling. I quote from the article:
Many studies have documented that the outlook for foster youth who age out is often grim:.
• One in four will be incarcerated within the first two years after they leave the system.
• Over one-fifth will become homeless at some time after age 18.
• Approximately 58 percent had a high school degree at age 19, compared to 87 percent of a national comparison group of non-foster youth.
• Of youth who aged out of foster care and are over the age of 25, less than 3 percent earned their college degrees5, compared with 28 percent of the general population.
It's a national issue and one that so few know about, but it affects every facet of our society. What more can you do? What more can I do? We all need to ask ourself that question.
4 comments:
I think individual counties and state governments need to be held accountable for the failure of these kids.
We decided, after the county call the police to investigate something that they could have just as easily resolved with a telephone call, to push forward with our daughter's adoption. We'd planned to foster long-term, because she needs certain services we won't be able to afford once her adoption is finalized. But, given the county's capricious nature, we decided it would be best to finalize as soon as possible.
We just learned the county FORGOT to properly notice her parents. Since they cannot be located, they have to be served by publication, which will add another three months to an already long process.
And WHO is being held accountable for these kinds of mistakes?
NOBODY.
And the kids continue to suffer.
Your post triggered my own rant about accountability on my blog. Drop by and have a look...
Isn't it funny that I so agree with you...yet we have the "twins" Mike and Joey who seemingly want to add to the wrong statistics, yet as parents we are still there. Go figure.
Please add Jake to Joey and Mike and make them triplets!
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