The foster care system is being overwhelmed and is unable to adequately care for displaced children. According to the NCFA, more than 50% of foster parents quit fostering after their first placement. If Family Connect/Foster Family Connect, and our partners, reduce the number of out-of-home placements and help reduce the stress on foster parents, together we can restore hope to every vulnerable child and family. These children need us to work together.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services AFCARS report from June 2020:

• Children who left foster care in 2019 had spent an average of 20 months in care and over 35,000 (14%) of them had been in care for three or more years.

• In 2019, neglect was a cause for the removal of 63% (over 158,000) of children who entered foster care. Over 86,000 children, or 34% of cases, were removed because of parental drug abuse, and this number is increasing because of the opioid crisis.

• The average age of children entering foster care in 2019 was seven years old, but over 47,000 (19%) were less than one year old.

• More than 51,000 youth in U.S. foster care live in institutions, group homes, and other environments instead of with a family.

• During 2019, over 672,000 children were served by the foster care system. On any given day, over 424,000 children are living in the U.S. foster care system. Over 122,000 of these children are eligible for adoption and have already been in the foster care system for an average of 32 months.

• In 2019, 53% of the children who left foster care were reunited with their families or living with a relative, 26% were adopted, and 11% had a guardianship transfer.

• In 2019, 20,445 (8%) of children in care aged out of the U.S. foster care system, and a majority left without the emotional and financial support necessary to succeed in life that other children can receive within a family.

The need in Wisconsin 

According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families 2019 Out of Home Care Report:

• Total out-of-home placements have been steadily increasing for the past six years, rising 16.5% statewide from 2012 to 2019.

• Placements outside of Milwaukee have risen by 30% from 2012 to 2019.

• Neglect, drug, alcohol and physical abuse are the cause of removal for 65.7% of all children placed in out-of-home care.

• Over 7,568 children were in out-of-home care as of December 31, 2019.

• 59% of children who left foster care were reunified with their families, 14% were adopted, and 17% had a transfer of guardianship.

• The average stay of a child in foster care was 14 months

• 20.5% of children in care are placed with a relative.

• Over 22.9% of children in out-of-home care are under one year of age, and an additional 16.7% of children are between the age of 2-4 years, which means over 39.6% of children in care are under the age of 5 years.

• 14.4% of children in foster care live in institutions, group homes, and other environments, instead of with a family.

• In 2019, neglect was a cause of removal for 71.8% of children who entered foster care. In 19.5% of those cases, drug abuse was a factor, which is increasing because of the opioid crisis.