FOSTER CARE IS GROUND ZERO

Foster Statistics

• 35,000 children currently in foster care in Los Angeles County.

• 400,000 children currently in foster care in the US.

• More than 23,000 children will age out of the US foster care system every year.

• 20% of the children who turn 18 and age out of foster care will become instantly homeless.

• Only 1 out of 2 youth who age out of the system will have some form of gainful employment by the age of 24.

• Only 3% of children who have aged out of foster care will earn a college degree at any point in their life.

• 7 out of 10 girls who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant before the age of 21.

• The percentage of children who age out of the foster care system and still suffer from the direct effects of PTSD: 25%. More than double the rate of U.S. veterans.

• The authorities receive reports of abuse representing 8% of the total child population in the United States annually.

• Tens of thousands of children in the foster care system were taken away from their parents after extreme abuse.