About The Foster Care System
How Does One Enter The Foster Care System?
If a child/minor experienced abuse (emotional, physical, etc.) or neglect in their biological households and was removed from that home by Child Protective Services
What's the main issue with CPS?
It's very underfunded and understaffed, meaning they don't have the money or people to help them properly fulfill their roles and responsibilities.
Describe the teenage pregnancy rates of foster kids
Girls in foster care are about twice as likely as others to become pregnant as teenagers
While physical abuse may decrease while in the foster care system, neglect/emotional abuse (increases/decreases)?
increases!
How Can We Support Women Financially?
Help them learn financial literacy as they go out to live on their own (not be dependent on someone)
What does CPS stand for?
Child Protective Services
List Some Mental Health Impacts Of Foster Care
Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and behavioral problems
How Does Increased Risk Of Homelessness Impact Women?
Homelessness puts women at risk of physical and sexual attacks on top of the general stress of not having a place to stay and possibly nothing to eat during that day.
What percentage of foster kids experience homelessness immediately upon leaving the system at age 18?
About 20%
How Can We Support Women Health Wise?
Teach these women on reproductive healthcare and the importance of going to gynecological visits (especially if they are already/about to become sexually active)
About how many placements/homes does an average foster child go through each year?
3-4
What are some issues with families receiving a stipend after fostering a child?
Leads to abuse → collection/misuse of money and negligence of children
How Does Being In Foster Care Impact Their Education?
When children are going through the process of being moved from family to family, it also means that they are moving between different schools, which can affect how well they perform in school. Constantly having to switch schools and get used to a new environment can lead to problems with matching the curriculum and not having a stable relationship with a teacher that actually knows what you might need academically.
What percentage of females reported experiencing sexual abuse while in the foster care system?
About 20%
How Can We Support Women In Relationships?
Help them identify red flags/bad things in a relationship that can be a sign of abuse and that they may have to leave the relationship. Show that just because they had unstable relationships in the past, they still deserve loving ones in the future!
Why do foster families receive a stipend?
Done to support families and ensure that they have the financial resources to take care of a child
What happens to a child that ages out of the system?
How Does Foster Care Put Women At An Increased Risk Of Entering Abusive Relationships/Human Trafficking
A common trafficking technique is pretending to be a loving boyfriend, which often leaves girls in foster care more vulnerable as they have less support systems and are more likely to stay in bad relationships.
What percentage of youth recovered by FBI were from foster care
60%
How Can We Uplift The Foster Care System?
Increase awareness on the need for more willing and kind foster parents and teach people on the importance of donating/supporting the system
At 18, if the child has not yet found a permanent placement, they are sent out to live on there own
What is wrong with the anonymous/spontaneous check-ins that SHOULD be happening?
Because of the lack of money and staff, children are placed into foster homes and often not checked up upon afterwards. This can lead to kids being placed in unsafe/abusive homes or simply families that don't match without having the ability to get themselves out
Describe the experience of disabled girls in the system
Women are less likely to receive diagnoses for certain disabilities such as ADHD/Autism, etc.
Oftentimes, children with illnesses and disabilities struggle with being “undesirable” to be fostered
What percentage of females had experienced sexual abuse before entering the foster care system
24%
How Can We Support Women Mentally?
Learn more about the mental health struggles of children in the foster care system and learn to become foster parents that are well equipped towards supporting these children instead of pushing them even more down