US: On any given day, nearly 407,000 children are in foster care in America (Opinion)
Original Newsbreak – February 04, 2023
On any given day, nearly 407,000 children are in foster care in America. In 2019, Child Protection Service agencies received an estimated 4.4 million referrals involving the alleged maltreatment of approximately 7.9 million children. The United States spends $30 billion on foster care annually, yet most children return home with scarce evidence that they or their family’s trajectories are improved by the costly and often traumatic intervention. With as many as 70% of youth in the juvenile justice system having been involved with child welfare, 60% of sexually exploited children, and 33% of homeless young adults with foster care histories, changing child welfare is also part of root-cause efforts to solve other systemic national problems.
Also: The Unseen Costs of Foster Care: A Social Return on Investment Study: https://www.thetcj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Alia-unseen-costs-of-FC.pdf
https://bit.ly/3YrtKY8