Facts

• While the number of children in foster care is declining overall, the numbers who age out of the system with no caring adult in their lives has soared by 41% since 1998.
• One in four will be incarcerated within the first two years of leaving foster care. More than 70% of people in prisons report having been in foster care or homeless shelters as children.
• More than 1 in 5 becomes homeless within the first year of aging out, and more than 50% experience homelessness within the first 18 months.
• About 50% of foster youth attain their high school diploma or G.E.D. compared to 87% of other U.S. teens.
• Of youth who have aged out, fewer than 3% earned college degrees, compared to 28% of the general population.
• Foster care teens change where they live an average of one to two times a year. With each switch they are half as likely to graduate high school on time.
• Of those aging out of foster care, more than a third changed schools five times or more.
• Youth who aged out are frequently unemployed and less than half are employed 2.5-4 years after leaving care. By age 24, those who are employed earn less than half of what youth from low income families earn.
• Girls in foster care are six times more likely to give birth before age 21. The greatest predictor of poverty is being a young single mom.
• More than one-third of U.S. home population is made up of children.
• Fifty percent of homeless teens age 16 and older drop out of school.
• An estimated 1.6 million to 2.8 million teens and young people through age 22 are on our streets. Many have been subjected to physical and sexual abuse by a parent or guardian; are abandoned due to substance abuse in the home; and/or suffered extreme family conflict.
• Almost 1 million children enrolled in our schools were homeless in the Fall 2008 school year, a jump of more than 41% from 2006-2007, according to the Department of Education, which notes that these numbers do not cover every school district.
• Homeless children/teens are twice as likely to have a learning disability, repeat a grade, or be suspended from school.
• A quarter of homeless children have witnessed violence and 22% have been separated from their families.
• Many homeless youth engage in risky sexual behaviors.
• 97% of homeless kids move at least once a year, interrupting their education and making academic achievement more difficult.
• More than 50% of homeless youth suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and/or substance abuse problems.
• Among the 21 most affluent nations, the United States has the highest percentage of poor children. In fact, our rate is twice that of the country next in line.
• About 15 million children – one out of every four – live below the official poverty line.
• 22% of Americans under the age of 18 and 25% under age 12 are hungry or at the risk of being hungry.