Where would they be? Startling statistics about young men in foster care.

I’m currently reading Orphan Justice by Johnny Carr.  Johnny and his wife had internationally adopted two children.  After the adoption of one of their children, a friend of Johnny’s asked him a simple question.  What would’ve happened to her if she hadn’t have been adopted?  The picture wasn’t pretty.  She could’ve had a life of poverty, disease, been taken into the sex trade, and etc. 

Although my boys are adopted from the US foster care system, I had to ask myself what would’ve happened to them if they hadn’t been adopted.  However, please don’t think this is an attempt to give myself a pat on the back for “rescuing” them.  It is not.  I am merely trying to raise some awareness of the plight of children who are in need of a loving family.  The statistics found by a 2009 study called the Midwest study are alarming. 

The study followed 732 former foster youth from Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin as they transitioned out of the foster care system and into adulthood.  For our purpose I specifically focused on the young men in the study.

• 24% of those studied had been homeless, and half of those had been homeless more than once.
• 25% of those studied did not have a high school diploma or GED, and were over 3 times more likely to not have a high school diploma or GED as those their age that had not been in care.
• 52% of the study participants were currently unemployed.
• Median earnings were a mere $8,000.00 compared $18,300.00 for their peers who had not been in care.
• Participants were over twice as likely to have experienced material hardships (not enough money to pay rent, pay a utility bill, or had been evicted).
• 61% of young men in the study had impregnated their partner.  That is over twice as high as their peers who had not been in care.
• Of those 61%, 55% said the pregnancy had been unplanned.
• 45% of the young men studied said they’d been incarcerated.

So, what could’ve happened to my boys?  Chances are good that they wouldn’t graduate high school or go off to college.  They’d have children young.  They may be unemployed, or if they are employed they could expect to make much less than their peers.  And, they’d have more than likely had a run in with the law leading to their arrest. 

We have the ability to change the statistics for these children.  There are children in foster care right now who are waiting for a loving family.  The statistics above tell the story for children who needed a family and did not get one.  Will you change the statistics for a child?

The American Orphan Crisis: A Call to Arms

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 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. - James 1:27 ESV

The concept seems simple, as a Christian, we are to care for orphans in their affliction. But let me ask you one question, do you actually know an orphan? In the United States we tend not to think of having orphans. Orphans are another country’s problem. They’re in Ethiopia, Russia, or China. They are the children we rescue by adopting from third world countries. (Please understand that international adoption is a great calling.) But, what if I were to tell you that America has a huge orphan crisis?

We tend not to think of children in foster care as orphans. But they are. According to AdoptUSKids, 250,000 children enter the US foster care system every year. Most of these kids will be reunited with their parents, but many of these children’s parents have legally lost their rights to them. They are no longer legally the child’s parents. Orphans are children who have lost their parents; haven’t these children lost theirs? According to The Forgotten Initiative “there are approximately 104,000 children in our US foster care system waiting to be adopted”. Some of these children are in foster homes, but many may be in group homes (what used to be called orphanages) awaiting placement. These group homes give a child a roof over their head, food to eat, and clothes to wear, but they are far from the loving home that a child strives for.

Some of you may be asking, “What can I do?”

First, I want to challenge each and every one of you to see the faces of these children. Go to AdoptUSKids, find your state, and view the children waiting to be adopted. This is the most important thing that you can do. Put a face to the crisis.

After you do that, here are some other ways that you can get involved.

Foster/Adopt

This is the most obvious way to help the crisis. Become certified foster parents and possibly adopt from the foster care system. There are many different organizations that hold foster parent classes. The easiest way to find the nearest one to you would be to call your local DHHR (Department of Health and Human Resources).

Respite Care

Respite is a valuable commodity in the foster parent community. Respite is the term used for fostering a child or sibling group for a short period of time. This is especially valuable when a foster family wants to take a vacation to another state. One thing that many people don’t realize is that foster families have to get permission to take a foster child out of state. Many times due to various circumstances the requests are denied. So, respite families step in to temporarily provide a safe home for the foster child.

In order to become a respite family, you must be a certified foster parent. That means taking classes and various background checks. If you are interested in becoming a respite family please contact your local DHHR for more information.

Become A Certified Babysitter

This may sound silly, but it would mean the world for a foster parent to be able to find a reliable babysitter who was already certified. Because foster children are under the protection of the state, not just anyone can watch them. If you are interested in being able to help a foster parent out by babysitting then please contact your local DHHR office for more information. Usually, a “babysitter packet” is needed. The packet contains background check forms needed for certification. This is usually not as in depth of a process as becoming a foster or respite parent.

Journey Bags

One of the most unfortunate aspects of foster care is that children are forced to leave everything behind when they come into care. Many times the children come with only the clothes on their back. This was the case for my sons. They came into care with only the dirty pajamas and clothes on their backs. Because of this, some groups put together journey bags. You can include just about whatever you want in a journey bag, but the purpose is to provide many necessities for a child entering the foster care system. We were extremely thankful for the journey bags that were provided to our boys when they came into care. I remember how much it meant to us to not have to go out and get diapers, toys, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc. This may seem like a small act to you, but to many foster parents and children it means the world. Whoever packed the journey bags for my children, thank you!

There are many different ways to get involved, but may I suggest a simple one? Share this blog. The more people that we make aware of this problem the more possible solutions. Let us not forget that we have an opportunity to share the love of Christ to these children.