When some people think of children, they often think about how happy and innocent they are, but in reality not all children have a safe and comfortable home. Countless foster children grow up living in group homes because they have nowhere else to go. Our society needs to recognize that these children are in need of help, and it can be provided to them at little to no cost.

As of 2014, there were 415,129 foster care children in the United States. That means that 1 in every 184 children in the United States are in the foster care system. Of the 415,129 foster care children, 38% of them are between the ages of 11 and 20.1 The likelihood of these teenage children being adopted is slim since 72% of the children who are adopted are under the age of 9 years old, with the average age being 6.6. The teenage population of foster children are being let out to dry because families do not want to adopt older children. Because of this, many foster children who age out of the system become homeless.

We have to help these children now so that they do not become a burden to society. In California alone, 80% of the adults that are being housed in correctional facilities are graduates of the state, the juvenile justice, the child welfare, the mental health, and the special education systems. The cost of housing an inmate in California is $71,000 per year. Keep in mind that the $71,000 is taxpayer money. If the government were to put more money into the foster care system, they could reduce the number of foster care children that end up incarcerated or on the streets.

Boys who are placed in the foster system as an adolescent and then graduate from the system have a higher adult criminality rate than other males. The children who become homeless end up doing what is necessary for their survival such as stealing because they do not have job which would provide them a stable income. Experts of the system estimate that 45% of the children that graduate from the system are homeless within a year.3  These children are 30% more likely to be substance abusers compared to the other homeless people.3 Not only are these children more likely to be substance abusers, they are also twice as likely to lose a child of their own to the foster care system.

As for education for these children, many of them do not even graduate from high school. Only about half of the foster children population completed high school and received a diploma.3 Out of the 415,129 foster care children a mere 12% of them are self supporting.3 The children lack attention that is needed in order for them to succeed throughout school and life in general. These children are missing the necessary role models that will support them through difficulties and guide them down a path that will allow them to be self-sufficient when they grow up. 

To help the foster care teens, a system could be put in place that connects older high school students with foster teens. These high school students could act as role models. This is beneficial for both groups of people. Each volunteer would get a “buddy” whom they would hang out with and do activities with such as go to the movies or play video-games together. This allows for the foster child to learn from their “mentor,” and also their “mentor” could learn from the foster teen. They could create a friendship in which the the foster child has someone to look up to learn basic social skills from. Implementing this change could allow for foster children to learn new skills that they would not be able to learn in their group home, and they could possibly gain a new friend who they can talk to and relate with.