Aren’t children in foster care safe?
Children in foster care are 10 times more likely to be abused than children in the general population.1
A child is nearly twice as likely to die of abuse in foster care as in the general population.2
Children in group homes are 28 times more likely to suffer sexual abuse than children in the general population.3
Isn’t foster care supposed to be temporary?
Almost half of foster children will spend at least two years in care, while almost 20 percent will remain in the system five or more years.4
On average, children in foster care move through three different foster care placements,4 frequently with little or no warning.
This lack of stability and permanency is part of the reason children in foster care are two to three times more likely to suffer mental health problems than children in the general public.5
This year, 19,000 children across the U.S. will turn 18 and “age out” of the system without ever finding a permanent home.4
Aren’t children in foster care better off academically?
Many students in foster care are academically behind early in their school careers and remain at risk for educational failure throughout their teenage years.6
Less than half of foster children graduate high school, only 38 percent find a job within 18 months of leaving the system, and only one in eight graduates from a four-year college.7
Children age 5 who were exposed to high levels of domestic violence have IQs about eight points lower than unexposed children. To put this number in perspective, consider that chronic lead exposure decreases children's IQs three or four points.8
Isn’t the county taking care of these children?
The Child Welfare League of America recommends caseloads of between 12 and 15 children per worker. Across the nation, the average caseload for a child welfare worker is between 24 and 31, twice the recommended number.9
Nationally, the annual turnover rate in the child welfare workforce is about 35 percent.10 At a time when children need consistent, positive adults in their lives, they frequently are presented with a revolving door of workers.
How do children get a ProKids CASA volunteer?
Our children are in the foster care system because they’ve been abused or neglected. ProKids CASA volunteers are appointed by Hamilton County Juvenile Court.
How do children finally leave Juvenile Court supervision?
Children leave Juvenile Court supervision after being placed in a safe, permanent, and nurturing home or after they have been emancipated. They may be placed with their biological parents, family, or friends, live independently, or be adopted.
How does ProKids raise funds?
As a private, nonprofit organization, we raise all of our funds through grants, special events, individual giving, corporate giving, and planned giving. ProKids is a United Way Agency Partner.
Sources:
1 Maier, T.W. Suffer the Children. Insight on the News. 24 Nov 1997.
2 About 0.73 percent of American children are in foster care, but 1.22 percent of child abuse fatalities are in foster care. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. Child Maltreatment 2002 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001). National data on child abuse fatalities shows that a child is nearly twice as likely to die of abuse in foster care as in the general population. A study of reported abuse in Baltimore found the rate of "substantiated" cases of sexual abuse in foster care more than four times higher than the rate in the general population. Using the same methodology, an Indiana study found three times more physical abuse and twice the rate of sexual abuse in foster homes than in the general population. In group homes there was more than 10 times the rate of physical abuse and more than 28 times the rate of sexual abuse as in the general population, in part because so many children in the homes abused each other. <http://www.nccpr.org/newissues/1.html>.
3 Benedict, M.I., Zuravin, M. Factors Associated with Child Maltreatment by Family Foster Care Providers. 28-30. 30 Jun 1992.
4 Krinsky, M.A. On Foster Care, Why Foster-Care Reform Must Happen. San Francisco Chronicle. 30 May 2006.
5 Child Welfare League of America.
6 Smithgall, C. Gladden, R.M. Howard, E., et al. Educational Experiences of Children in Out-of-Home Care, Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. 2004.
7 Making the Transition from Foster Care to College, Lumina Foundation. Apr 2004. <http://www.luminafoundation.org/newsroom/newsletter/April2004/fosteryouth.html>.
8 Feldman, W. Randel, P. Screening children for lead exposure in Canada. Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination. Canadian Guide to Clinical Preventive Health Care. 268-288. 1994.
Koenen, K.C. Moffitt, T.E. Caspi, A., et al. Domestic Violence is Associated with Environmental Suppression of IQ in Young Children. Dev Pshychopathol. 2:297-311. 2003.
9 2004 National Association of Social Workers. <http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/children/NASWChildWelfareRpt062004.pdf>.
10 U.S. General Accounting Office, (GAO-03-357). 2003.
<http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/nationalfactsheet06.htm>.
