MOTHERS DAY
This year an event took place in honor of "Foster Mothers" hosted by Jeanne Pritzker and her whole team of volunteers. They celebrated over 1000 families on this day and provided these families with a day to remember! There were many performers who came out to celebrate on this very special day from such singers as "David Archuleta" to a new comer "Shanie Evans" who expressed that this event was full circle for her as she was also in the foster care system and wanted to be an inspiration on that day.
I wanted to give you some facts for those of you who are interested in knowing more about this growing epidemic.
FACTS
One in four children in Los Angeles lives in poverty, with more children in the foster care system (20,000) than anywhere else in the country.
· Approximately one-third of all infants and toddlers are abused and neglected, and are the largest single group of children entering foster care, often moving three or more times within their first few months of entering the system.
· More than half of the youngest children in foster care experience learning, mental health and behavioral disabilities – 4 to 5 times the rate found among children in the general population.
· Sixty-five percent of children who grow up in foster care change homes and schools more than seven times by the time they reach 12th grade.
At the other end of the spectrum are the children who were not fortunate enough to be adopted or placed in a legal guardianship, and must transition out of the foster care system when they turn 18 years of age.
· Each year, 1,500 Los Angeles foster youth “age out” of the foster care system:
1. 90% of former foster youth had no source of income at the time they left foster care
2. 65% had not graduated from high school
3. 62% did not have medical coverage
4. 90% had no adult guidance whatsoever
5. Within two years after leaving foster care, 50% will be homeless or incarcerated, and less than 3% will graduate from a four year college or university.
