User:KaitieOBrien/Foster care

Foster care to prison pipeline
When a child ages out of the foster care system whether that be age 18 or 21 they struggle with a lack of housing and the necessary resources needed for survival. Foster children are less likely to graduate from high school and less than 10% will attend college. And of those who do go to college only 3% end up graduating. Upwards of 90% who have been in foster care will come into contact with the juvenile justice system by the time they are 18 years old. Take this into comparison of the 23% of foster children who will kill themselves by the time they are 21.The rate of suicide and incaraceration among foster kids is higher than it is for the entire general population. An estimated 20% of the overall prison population consists of 1/4th of adults who were in the foster care system. The foster care system is in place to provide aid to children in need of parental supervision yet it often lacks these attributes. Neglect and abuse are an unfortunate part of the system, and this is something that contributes to the incarceration rate. Abuse results in both physical and psychological problems that play a major role in the incarceration rate. Not only does the abuse impact these rates but so do the emotional issues these children face. They often face feelings of worthlessness and shame when they remain in foster care until they are 18 and or 21.When children do not receive the love and affection they need they will turn to receive negative attention.This can lead to acting out which can cause run-ins with the juvenile justice system. More times than not, they have more than one encounter. Both the foster care system and juvenile justice system are broken which lead to the "foster care to the prison pipeline". 90% of call children that remain in foster care until they are age 18 will end up in prison. Almost 1/3rd of children who spent any amount of time in foster care whether that be 5 months or 5 years were charged with a crime between the ages of 12 and 17. These charges were most often “administrative” meaning simple things such as breaching parole, drinking alcohol, or staying out past curfew. By the age of 21, almost half of them had been charged with a criminal offense. Of these children, only 2/3rds  graduated high school.