Statistics

There are over 500,000 children in the United States Foster Care System ^I
1 out of every 5 of our Nation's foster children lives in California. ^II
46% of foster youth fail to complete high school ^III
65% of California's foster youth face imminent homelessness. ^IV
3 out of every 10 of our Nation's homeless are former foster youth. ^V
70% of foster youth dream of going to college.only 3% actually make it. ^VI
Rates of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among foster care alumni are up to twice the rate of US war veterans who faced combat. ^VII
83% of children in foster care are held back in school by 3rd grade and 75% are working below grade level. ^VIII
35% of foster youth have experienced four or more school changes and each school move results in a six month loss of educational progress. ^IX
51% are unemployed at age 22. ^X

Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)
CA - Foster Care and Child Development
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (a project of the LA Superior Court)
CA Dept of Social Services
Roman, N.P. & Wolfe, N. (1995). Web of failure: The relationship between foster care and homelessness. Washington, DC: National Alliance to End Homelessness.
McMillen C, Auslander W, Elze D, White T, Thompson R. Educational experiences and aspirations of older youth in foster care. Child Welfare. 2003 Jul-Aug;82(4):475-95. PMID: 12875372 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Pecora P, Kessler R, Williams J, et al. Improving family foster care: findings from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs, available at http://www.casey.org; 2005.
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (a project of the LA Superior Court)
Molly Herzog, Director of Project People, cited in The Connection: News and Information from the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, Summer 2004, Vol. 20 No. 2 Temple, J. A., & Reynolds, A. J. (1999). School mobility and achievement: Longitudinal results from an urban cohort. Journal of School Psychology, 37(4), 355-
Burley, M. & Halpern, M. (2001) Educational Attainment of Foster Youth. Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Document #01-11-3901)