Connected for Life (Did You Know)

Did You Know?

• There are 588,000 children in the foster care system nationwide. Approximately 100,000 of these children are in the California foster care system.

• These children, therefore, are our children. Foster care is funded by our tax dollars.

• If these children cannot be reunified with their families or if they are not adopted, then, most often, they become long-term foster children.

• The foster care system was designed to be a temporary placement, providing care for children living in unsafe and dangerous situations. The foster care system was not designed to raise children.

• Hundreds of thousands of children have grown-up in foster care, without permanent families or any lifelong connections.

• At 18 years old, the children “age out” of the foster care system and the government stops paying for their care. They become nobody’s children.

• A recent study published by the National Conference of State Legislatures highlights the fact that future prospects for a large percentage of emancipated foster care youth (age 18 and beyond) is very dismal:
• 50% are unemployed
• 37% never finish high school
• 33% are on public assistance
• 10% of the females are in jail
• 27% of the males are in jail
• 40% of the females have been pregnant

• In California, approximately 4,000 children “age out” of foster care annually. These children often do not have a family to support them in their transition to adulthood.

• California’s legislature recently passed Bill AB 408. The San Jose Mercury News described AB 408 as California’s commitment to the important goal of “no child leaving foster care without a shoulder to lean on, a place to spend the holidays, a caring adult who’s going to be there for the long haul.”

• The Connected For Life organization has been established to provide older foster youth (10-18 years old) with lifelong connections to help guide and nurture their growth to and through adulthood.

• Connected For Life has set a goal to raise $4 million over the next five years in order to connect 525 older foster youth with families or caring adults. Compare that average cost of $7,619 per youth to the following alternative costs:

o The average cost to shelter a homeless person is $12,775/year
o The average cost for hospital care of a substance abuser is $14,740/year
o The average cost to house a minimum security prisoner is $36,000/year
o The average loss in productivity to society is staggering