The document discusses four major issues with the U.S. foster care system: 1) Overreliance on group homes where more than 40% of children in group homes do not need to be in that setting; 2) Lack of support for foster parents who need training and resources to care for children who often have mental/behavioral issues or trauma; 3) Many teenagers age out of the system without a support system and are at risk of homelessness or not graduating high school; 4) There is little focus on reuniting children with their birth families when possible, even though most children would prefer to live with family over being adopted or aging out.

1. PROBLEMS WITH
THE U.S. FOSTER
CARE SYSTEM
N A D A V Z E I M E R

2. T H E P U R P O S E O F F O S T E R
C A R E
The foster care system exists to advocate and care for
children that need a support system. While the system is
necessary and has helped many children who otherwise
would have had no one, it’s not perfect by any means. There
are four major issues with the foster care system that need to
be addressed.

3. G R O U P H O M E S
More than 56,000 children in the foster
system live in group homes. One in
seven foster children are placed in
group settings, and more than 40
percent of these children have no
documented clinical or behavioral need
that would necessitate a group setting.
Children have more success when
placed with a family from the
beginning. Not only do group homes not
serve the best interest of the children,
but they’re also way more costly. Group
homes cost seven to 10 times more per
child than family placement.
R e l i a n c e o n

4. L A C K O F S U P P O R T F O R F O S T E R P A R E N T S
Support for foster parents is crucial for the success of
foster children and the foster system in general. Many
foster children suffer from mental or behavioral issues or
have experienced significant trauma, and that can be a lot
for a parent to take on with little support. Foster parents
need more resources to help them in the difficult journey
that is fostering. Foster parents need on-demand training
on how to handle any issues their foster child may have,
and the support of other foster families in the area.

5. O F T H E S Y S T E M
T e e n a g e r s A g e O u t
Children and teenagers that are placed in group homes don’t have the opportunity
to connect with a permanent adoptive family, making them likely to age out of the
system with no support network. One in five teenagers who age out of the foster
care system will become homeless. More than 40 percent of teenagers who age out
never graduate from high school. Recently, some jurisdictions have raised the foster
care age from 18 to 21, so young adults are still able to receive support from their
caseworkers.

6. L I T T L E F O C U S O N
R E U N I F I C A T I O N
It may seem like the only options for
foster children are to get adopted,
or age out of the system. That’s
because reunification is often
overlooked. Reuniting foster
children with birth families should
be the original goal. Most children
who are removed from their families
don’t want to be. They’d prefer to
live with their family when possible.
Around half of all children who leave
the system are reunited with their
parents. In situations of abuse or
neglect, reunification is not in the
child’s best interest. But, children
enter the foster care for a multitude
of other reasons and the focus for
those children should be on
returning them to their family.