According to the Child Welfare League of America, on September 30, 2004, 518,000 children were in the U.S. foster care system. Among those youth, the average amount of time spent in the foster care system was 30 months.
As much as every child needs parents who will care for them and guide them in their growth, foster children have an even higher level of need. The Child Welfare League of America states that, “Although family foster care, designed to provide temporary protection and nurturing for children experiencing maltreatment, has been a critical service for millions of children in the United States, the increased attention given to this service in the last two decades has focused more on its limited ability to achieve its intended outcomes than on its successes.”
According to the Annie E. Casey foundation, “the number of foster families nationally has dropped, so that fewer than 50 percent of the children needing temporary care are now placed with foster families. As a result of this disparity, child welfare agencies in many urban communities have placed large numbers of children in group care or with relatives who have great difficulty caring for them.”
One major area for improvement within the foster care system is its need for a larger number of foster families who are equipped to serve the needs of the youth needing to be placed with them. With the right tools, foster parents can be the saving grace of the foster care system, as they have the most direct contact with the youth living under their roofs.
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