Most of us have heard the troubling statistics on outcomes for foster children. When compared with their peers they are more likely to end up homeless, in jail or pregnant, and are less likely to graduate from high school, college or find full-time employment.
These findings make sense. We know that a child’s brain is 92% developed by age 5, and that healthy brain development is negatively impacted by trauma and stress. To combat this, children in foster care need more nurturing and care than other children – not less.
Yet the childhoods of most foster children are more tumultuous and stressful than their peers. Bounced around from home to home, often torn from all stable influences in their lives: schools, neighbors and friends; separated from siblings and other family members; and then “aging out” at 18 and all alone? This upbringing does not give a child the stable, loving, nurturing influences he or she needs for success.
Legislators here in Washington state recognize this. In recent years lawmakers have sponsored a number of bills aimed at improving quality of life and outcomes for foster youth. These efforts include:
- allowing foster children to visit their siblings more often to keep family connections strong;
- providing them with academic coaches to improve success in school;
- ensuring foster youth have legal representation so someone is putting their needs first; and
- allowing more foster youth to stay in care till age 21, rather than 18 so they can get the support they need to become productive adults.
These efforts are a good start at providing a brighter future for Washington’s foster
children. But there is still huge room for improvement. A recent report by KUOW shows that due to lack of follow-through by DSHS, poor treatment in foster care, and stringent requirements for the extended foster care program, only about 12% of foster youth stay in care till age 21 – in spite of the known benefits.
At a time when our state is recognizing the powerful impacts of childhood on adult success, it’s the perfect time to continue making changes that improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children.
For more information on the foster care system in Washington state check out this in-depth series on foster children by Crosscut.
Photo Credits, Freedigitalphotos.net; David Castillo Dominici