It’s no secret that our nation’s child welfare system is far from perfect. With the number of children in foster care on the rise, drastic steps must be taken to combat this massive societal issue.

Let’s dive into one of the largest problems facing foster care and discuss steps on how to help foster children.

Lack Of Funding

It is our tax dollars that are used to raise children who cannot safely remain in their biological homes, but it is a lack of sufficient funds that is one of the largest flaws in the system.

The foster care system invests less than half of what an average family spends on a child. Therefore it should be no surprise that this lack of investment results in young people in the foster care system having the worst outcomes of any at-risk population.

The cost of under-investing in our young people results in $1 million in societal costs for every youth we fail, and the tragedy of never fulfilling their potential. Can you imagine what their lives, and our communities, might look like if we gave them the same opportunities to succeed that their peers in supportive biological homes have?

The reason our system is where it is today is because foster care was never meant to serve as a permanent place for children to be raised. The system was designed to temporarily house children and youth whose biological parents or guardians were unable to care for them.

Because of its intended temporary nature, the system focuses on basic needs: protection, safety, clothing, shelter, food and a few other critical needs required to keep young people safe while in the system. As a result, it doesn’t provide the same resources and opportunities that biological homes provide.

But the reality is that children remain in foster care for an average of 20.1 months, according to the Children’s Bureau AFCARS Report. That’s over 443,000 children that spend almost 2 years or more in a system that invests less than half of what an average family would, and has the outcomes to prove it.

How To Help Foster Children

iFoster plays an important role in providing necessary resources that the government does not. We help close this debilitating investment gap by providing foster youth of all ages with an extensive array of resources and opportunities that each one of them needs to succeed and reach their full potential.

By becoming a member of iFoster, you gain access to an extensive portal of free and discounted resources. While we fight for the system to fully invest in young people in foster care, we are stretching existing funding further, making the system more efficient and providing access to resources and opportunities that help every young person achieve their potential.

iFoster can provide all necessary information on how to help foster children. Whether you want to become a caregiver, donate your resources or time, or you work for a company that you believe could benefit foster children and are interested in partnering with us, we would love to hear from you.

Please contact us at support@ifoster.org or call us at 855-936-7837. Every extra set of hands and additional resources counts.

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