Startling Statistics
There are more than half a million children and youth in the U.S. foster care system, a 90% increase since 1987. Three of 10 of the nation’s homeless are former foster children. A recent study has found that 12-18 months after leaving foster care:
27% of the males and 10% of the females had been incarcerated
33% were receiving public assistance
37% had not finished high school
50% were unemployed
*Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Support
Children in foster care are three to six times more likely than children not in care to have emotional, behavioral and developmental problems, including conduct disorders, depression, difficulties in school and impaired social relationships. Some experts estimate that about 30% of the children in care have marked or severe emotional problems. Various studies have indicated that children and young people in foster care tend to have limited education and job skills, perform poorly in school compared to children who are not in foster care, lag behind in their education by at least one year, and have lower educational attainment than the general population.
*Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Support
80 percent of prison inmates have been through the foster care system.
*National Association of Social Workers
Children are 11 times more likely to be abused in State care than they are in their own homes.
*National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN)
Children died as a result of abuse in foster care 5.25 times more often than children in the general population. 2.1 percent of all child fatalities took place in foster care. While this may seem like a relatively low number, we must consider the contrast in population between children in the general population versus children in foster care. In 1997, there were nearly 71 million children in the general population (99.6%), but only 302 thousand in state care (.4%) in state care. As state care is supposed to be a ‘safe haven’, the number of fatalities should be less or at least equal to what it is in the general population of children. By this standard, there should have been less than .4% of child fatalities occurring in foster care; however, there was 5.25 times that amount. (31 states reporting)
*CPS Watch Inc.
So you see, there is an enormous need to care for children right here in the United States, in California, and yes, even Sacramento. The tears of a malnourished child in Africa are heart breaking. But one need not travel around the globe to care for the orphans. One only needs to look in our own neighborhoods, in fact our own back yards, as they are tucked away in a struggling system called foster care.
PROJECTS:
Covered & Kept Youth Summit – The goal of this summit is to assist youth towards a purpose filled life.
Jon Johnson Assist One Academy – Our goal is to inspire, motivate and instill a true sense of their greater potential to be high achievers, leaders and productive men and women in society.
Media Adoption Programs – Two part series documentaries, PSA’s brings awareness to the community at large about the plight of our children
Find A Family Month – The campaign begins May 1, 2008 and ends with The “About Kids” black tie dinner and silent auction
Jon Johnson Broadcast Scholarship Award – offers foster care kids college scholarships to continue their education.