challenges foster children face : some statistics each year, over 10,000 children in the northeast...
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Challenges Foster Children Face : some statistics
Each year, over 10,000 children in the Northeast enter foster care.
Majority of foster children have at least 1 chronic medical condition.
Experience 4x as many emotional problems than peers.Average 3 different placements, and nearly half do not
return to live with their biological families.Repeat a school grade twice as often as other students.They score 15-20 percent below other kids on statewide
tests.37% of foster youth drop out of high school, compared to
16% of the population.At age 18, 61% have no job experience and 1/3 end up on
welfare.Within 18 months of aging out of the system, up to 50%
of foster youth become homeless
A lack of personal belongingsOften times when children
are removed from the home it is chaotic. Frequently children have only minutes to gather the belongings.
Most children come into foster care carrying a trash bag filled with what ever they could find.
Moving into a foster home often means leaving behind all of their personal belongings.
For foster families, this means replenishing important items like clothing, shoes, coats, and even pajamas.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Children without permanent
homes have few personal items, if they have any at all.
Having something to call their own can be vitally important to them.
My mission is to improve the lives of the foster children living in Massachusetts.
Clearly not everyone can be a foster parent, anyone can help a foster child.
What I need:
Pajamas, clothing and personal care suppliesBottles and teething toysSchool supplies, including backpacks and
lunch bagsGames and stuffed animalsColoring books and crayons