Overview of unprivileged orphans

“There are more than 463,000 children in the foster care system in the United States” (America Has Orphans). Even though thousands of children get adopted each year, many more are left in the system. 20,000 children each year leave the system without a mom or dad because they age out (Facts about Foster Care). These teens that age out are not put in a good position to succeed: “one in four will be incarcerated within two years of leaving the system, and over one-fifth will become homeless at some time after age 18. In addition, only 58 percent obtain their high school diploma by age 19” (Nance). Without parents or someone else to guide them, these kids are not ready to become adults and face the challenges the world offers. Whether it be with birth parents or foster care parents, kids need a teacher to prepare and help them succeed in adulthood.

        Although the foster care system helps many kids it is not perfect. “Nearly half of all children in foster care have chronic medical problems, about half of children under the age of five have developmental delays, and up to 80 percent of children in foster care have serious emotional problems” (Facts about Foster Care). These kids cannot get the help they need for these problems because of the foster family’s strict budget. Families are not provided with enough money to take care of some children’s’ medical needs much less enough to provide for their wants and interests. Another major problem in the system is that not all foster care parents are good parents. There have been many cases of abuse: “1 in 5 children within their foster system were abused at a foster home” (Malka). These children have already lost both their parents and now they get abused? It just is not right. Terrible things have been recorded in these cases such as, “an 11-year old foster child was found handcuffed on his front porch with a dead chicken hung around his neck.  In 2003, a Pennsylvania foster mother was arrested after her foster daughter died of asphyxiation when duct tape was used to enforce a time-out” (Malka). Emotional or physical, there are many problems that children within the foster care system face on a daily basis.

"America Has Orphans, Too." Orphan Coalition. N.p., 2014. Web. 26 May 2014.

"Facts about Foster Care." Children's Rights. Children's Rights, 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

Malka, S. T. "When Children Are Abused by Foster Parents." KevinMD. Medpagetoday, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 May 2014.

Nance, Penny Y., and Glorya T. Jordan. "The Orphan Crisis in America." The Christian Post. N.p., 3 May 2013. Web. 26 May 2014.