Education:
​
​4% of youth who've experienced foster care will obtain a college degree. ​
​Courtney, M., Dworsky, A., Brown, A., Cary, C., Love, K., & Vorhies, V. (2011). Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Outcomes at age 26. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Ref
​The average 17-18 year-old experiencing foster care is reading at a seventh-grade level.
​Somers, C., Goutman, R., Day A., Enright, O., Crosby, S., Taussig, H. (2020). Academic achievement among a sample of youth in foster care: The role of school connectedness. Psychol Sch. 2020 Dec; 57(12): 1845–1863. Published online 2020 Aug 14. doi: 10.1002/pits.22433
65% of youth who've experienced foster care had to navigate 5 or more school moves during their time in care.
Pecora et al., Improving family foster care: Findings from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study, pp. 26, 28 (2005) Ref.
On average, 50% of youth experiencing foster care complete high school by age 18.
Courtney, M., Dworsky, A., Brown, A., Cary, C., Love, K., & Vorhies, V. (2011). Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Outcomes at age 26. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Ref
Youth experiencing foster care are 2 times more likely to be suspended and 3 times more likely to experience expulsion compared to their peers.
Somers CL, Goutman RL, Day A, Enright O, Crosby S, Taussig H. Academic Achievement Among a Sample of Youth in Foster Care: The Role of School Connectedness. Psychol Sch. 2020 Dec;57(12):1845-1863. doi: 10.1002/pits.22433. Epub 2020 Aug 14. PMID: 33707787; PMCID: PMC7942201. Ref

Homelessness:
​
​Between 31 and 46% of youth exiting foster care experience homelessness by age 26.
Amy Dworsky, Laura Napolitano, and Mark Courtney, 2013: Homelessness During the Transition From Foster Care to Adulthood American Journal of Public Health 103, S318_S323, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301455
61% of individuals who've experienced foster care and are navigating homelessness are likely to be incarcerated.​
Dworsky, A., Gitlow, E., Horwitz, B., & Samuels, G.M. (2019). Missed opportunities: Pathways from foster care to youth homelessness in America. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Ref
20,000 young people age out of foster care every year. 20%, or 4,000, will experience homelessness within four years.
Dworsky A, Napolitano L, Courtney M. Homelessness during the transition from foster care to adulthood. Am J Public Health. 2013 Dec;103 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S318-23. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301455. Epub 2013 Oct 22. PMID: 24148065; PMCID: PMC3969135. Ref
Approximately, 47% of all current youth experiencing foster care and homelesness also experienced homelessness with their biological family compared to 9% of non-foster youth.
Dworsky, A., Gitlow, E., Horwitz, B., & Samuels, G.M. (2019). Missed opportunities: Pathways from foster care to youth homelessness in America. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Ref

Incarceration:

Over 50% of youth experiencing foster care will have an encounter with the juvenile legal system through arrest, conviction or detention by the age of 17.
Courtney, M. E., Terao, S., & Bost, N. (n.d.). Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Conditions of Youth Preparing to Leave State Care Executive Summary. CHAPIN HALL DISCUSSION PAPER. Ref
Over half of youth experiencing foster care experience an arrest, conviction, or overnight stay at a correctional facility by age seventeen.
Palcheck, T. (n.d.). Child Welfare and the Criminal System: Impact, Overlap, Potential Solutions. Georgetown Law. Ref
Approximatey 25% of youth experiencing foster care will be involved with the criminal legal system within two years of leaving the system.
Palcheck, T. (n.d.). Child Welfare and the Criminal System: Impact, Overlap, Potential Solutions. Georgetown Law. Ref
90% of children and youth who've had five or more placements in foster care have a risk of being involved with the criminal legal system.
Palcheck, T. (n.d.). Child Welfare and the Criminal System: Impact, Overlap, Potential Solutions. Georgetown Law. Ref
About 70% of youth who exit foster care as legal adults are arrested at least once by age
26.
Courtney, M. E., Terao, S., & Bost, N. (n.d.). Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Conditions of Youth Preparing to Leave State Care Executive Summary. CHAPIN HALL DISCUSSION PAPER. Ref
​Close to one fifth of the prison population in the United States is comprised of individuals who've experienced foster care.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) (2016), Survey of prison inmates. Ref
17% of parents who are incarcerated spent time in the child welfare system.
Wang, Leah. "Both sides of the bars: How mass incarceration punishes families." Prison Policy Initiative, 11 Aug. 2022, Ref

Mental Health:

Out of the 400,000 young people who've entered foster care in the United States, 80% have mental health issues, compared to 20% of their peers.​
Hambrick EP, Oppenheim-Weller S, N'zi AM, Taussig HN. Mental Health Interventions for Children in Foster Care: A Systematic Review. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2016 Nov;70:65-77. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.09.002. Epub 2016 Sep 8. PMID: 28496286; PMCID: PMC5421550. Ref
91% of states do not offer programs that meet the mental health needs of foster youth.
Hambrick EP, Oppenheim-Weller S, N'zi AM, Taussig HN. Mental Health Interventions for Children in Foster Care: A Systematic Review. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2016 Nov;70:65-77. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.09.002. Epub 2016 Sep 8. PMID: 28496286; PMCID: PMC5421550. Ref
An average of about 23% of children experiencing foster care have one or more emotional, behavioral, or developmental conditions.
Pecora PJ, Jensen PS, Romanelli LH, Jackson LJ, Ortiz A. Mental health services for children placed in foster care: an overview of current challenges. Child Welfare. 2009;88(1):5-26. PMID: 19653451; PMCID: PMC3061347. Ref
​In a study over a quarter the children experiencing foster care had a history of suicidality according to their own and/or their caregiver’s report, 4.1% of whom were imminently suicidal.
Taussig HN, Harpin SB, Maguire SA. Suicidality among preadolescent maltreated children in foster care. Child Maltreat. 2014 Feb;19(1):17-26. doi: 10.1177/1077559514525503. Epub 2014 Feb 24. PMID: 24567247; PMCID: PMC4319651. Ref
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs) determined that there is a 60% increase in risk of suicide attempt with every additional adverse childhood experience.
Taussig HN, Harpin SB, Maguire SA. Suicidality among preadolescent maltreated children in foster care. Child Maltreat. 2014 Feb;19(1):17-26. doi: 10.1177/1077559514525503. Epub 2014 Feb 24. PMID: 24567247; PMCID: PMC4319651. Ref
​​Children and youth who have experienced foster care are 2x as likely as US war veterans to experience PTSD as adults.
Paris, MiMi. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Not just a soldier's problem." Foster Focus Magazine. Ref
​Children and youth experiencing foster care are 5 times as likely to have anxiety and 7 times as likely to have depression than children not in the child welfare system.
Taussig HN, Harpin SB, Maguire SA. Suicidality among preadolescent maltreated children in foster care. Child Maltreat. 2014 Feb;19(1):17-26. doi: 10.1177/1077559514525503. Epub 2014 Feb 24. PMID: 24567247; PMCID: PMC4319651. Ref
​The Department of Health and Human Services states that approximately 90% of children experiencing foster care have been exposed to trauma.
Dorsey S, Burns BJ, Southerland DG, Cox JR, Wagner HR, Farmer EM. Prior Trauma Exposure for Youth in Treatment Foster Care. J Child Fam Stud. 2012 Oct;21(5):816-824. doi: 10.1007/s10826-011-9542-4. PMID: 23730144; PMCID: PMC3667554. Ref

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