Works consulted

"Awarded Memoir Reveals Glimpse of Life in Foster Care, Unites Family after 70 Years." Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.
"Child Welfare League of America: Practice Areas: Family Foster Care: Critical Issues: Programs and Resources for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care." Child Welfare
League of America: Practice Areas: Family Foster Care: Critical Issues: Programs and Resources for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care. N.p., n.d. Web. 16
Apr. 2013.
Cose, Ellis. Trauma, Turmoil, and Recovery: surviving foster care. Digital image. iTunesU. n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
"Foster Parent." Adoptioncom Forums RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.
"KidsHealth." Foster Families. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.
"KidsPeace." KidsPeace . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.
Nowak, Kate Bartell. "Finding a way home." State Legislatures 39.4(2013):8 Academic onefile. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Otis, John. " Father, 21, Seeks to provide the life he never had." New York Times 28 Dec. 2012: A24(L). Academic onefile. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Lezman, Missi. "Real Life Foster Families." Personal interview. 11 Apr. 2013.
Rees, Judith. "We Need to Value Foster Care, Not Fixate on Adoption." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Apr. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2013
Testa, F, Mark,. "When children cannot return home: Adoption and Guardianship." Future of children 1(2004):114. eLibrary. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
"Trauma and Children: An Introduction for Foster Parents." Trauma and Children: An Introduction for Foster Parents. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
Images
"A Conspiracy Against Children: Exactly who is out of control?, page 1." A Conspiracy Against Children: Exactly who is out of control?, page 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
"ADOPTION INSTITUTE: FOSTER CARE FACTS." Adoption institute: foster care facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
"Agencies in Ohio." A Childs Hope International. N.p, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
"District 196 Social Work Services." District 196 Social Work Services. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
"Foster care & Adoption Services - Kalamazoo- Michigan- Foster parenting." Foster Parenting. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
" Foster Care." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
"In Wisconsin, Church Members open Homes to Children in Need."- Urban Christian news. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
"KIDS COUNT UPDATE." Kids Count Update. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
"The Intersectionality of Foster Care and Youth Homelessness. The Red Zone." The Red Zone." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.

Shortage of Foster Homes

Many foster families are adopting and this is cause the families to stop doing foster care. With so many people stoping that is causing a huge need for foster families. Also right now their is a huge inflammation of kids going into foster care so the need it even more greater (Lezman). The amount of sibling groups is also high and not many foster families are willing to take two foster kids many of these kids will never see their siblings again ("Life in Foster Care"). Having such a large amount of kids in the system cause a need for foster families and foster families who will take sibling groups. "We need to value and support foster carers instead of fixating on adoption," (Rees). The support a foster parent gives to a young child can effect that child. Foster care helps so many, but we have no were to put these kids who need love.

Safe families

When parents need a place for their child to go, weather it is because they lost their job and can't care for their child or more serious they have a drug problem and they want to become clean, the parents have an opportunity to put their child in a safe family. A safe family is a place a child can go temporarily without going into foster care. Safe families are a step before foster care (Lezman). "Safe families bring the number of kids going into foster care down. It allows parents to get it together before their kids are taken away. It also makes it easier for the biological family to get their children back," (Lezman). Safe families also allow frequent visitations which help the kids.

Finding a Forever Family

" There are over 400,000 children in the United States in need of a temporary home while issues with their birth parents or household are being resolved," ("Foster Parent"). Many of these kids will go back to a birth parent, they will have a kin adoption/foster care, they will age out, but the rest will be adopted ("Kids Peace"). The long term goal for each of these children are to be either reunited with there biological family or get adopted (Rees). Adoption is a good thing but many foster parents will adopt through foster care and then they will stop causing a shortage of foster families (Lezman). There are many kids out there that are just waiting for a forever home. "The average child adopted from the foster care system in 2000 was 6.9 years old, and the average child awaiting adoption was 8.1 years," (Testa).

Many states are trying to reduce the number of children in congregate care or short-term supervision, and increasing family placements and permanent adoptions. (Nowak). Adoption threw foster care is a great thing. It allows these kids how have lost everything to gain everything, a forever home.

First image: This image is just a heart made out of word about adoption and what it means to adopt.

Second image: This graph shows the percentages of exiting reasons and what those reasons are. It also shows what percentage of foster kids get adopted.

Third image: This graph show the different age groups and what percent are adopted and what percent are waiting.

Trauma

Being pulled away from the only people you know as family, moving from foster home to foster home, being physically abused, and verbally abused can all hurt a child and cause them to have some sort of trauma. "Unresolved trauma significantly increases the risk for failure or poor life outcomes," ("Kids Peace"). Many foster care children were not given the emotional and essential needs at infancy," (Lezman). Trauma can be caused by many different thing, but all trauma is a problem and is not the child's fault. People who have been through trauma recover on their own time ("Trauma & children"). Many foster kids have some kind of trauma but the most important thing to remember is that it is not there fault that they were abused, verbally or physically. Many of the kids in foster care can not trust an adult due to trauma. These kids did not ask to be abused, left, and none of them asked to lose their only family. These reasons often cause trauma (Lezman).

Aging out of foster care

In many situations, more than what you would expect, teens in foster care age out of the system. "The kids who age out do not have any role models. They are on their own at just eighteen," (Lezman). For many eighteen year olds they have not even graduated form high school. This problem may cause the young adult to struggle to get a job and support themselves on their own. Many of these foster kids cannot trust someone and that is why they have never been adopted, others have always wanted to be adopted but no one has taken that step.

Many of the kids who age out will have a hard time surviving in the world, many become homeless, jobless, and many will even end up in prison. 1 in 4 kids who age out will end up in jail within 2 years and 1 in 5 will become homeless (Cose). This makes it even harder for these kids, who have no one and nothing, to make it in life. Many young adults not in foster care will live and depend on their parents between the ages of 24-34. "Foster youth do not always have the option of turning to their families for support," ("Chid Welfare").

Since aging out of foster care is such a big issue the government have changed the aging out age to 21, but at 18 that child needs to decide weather they would like to age out or go into independent living (Lezman).


In the picture below it shows a young girl holding up a sign that says "All I did was turn 18," this shows how these kids just loss everything.