Letter from the Editor

Broken system, shattered dreams

I was one of the lucky ones. I was a foster kid starting at the age of 3. I was lucky because I got out of the system when I was 7. I was adopted by my biological grandmother and her second husband. I was also lucky because I only had to endure one foster home—albeit a dysfunctional one. Too many kids aren't so lucky.

Data obtained from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System demonstrates some disturbing statistics. As of Sept. 30, 2003, there were an estimated 523,000 children in foster care. During fiscal year 2003, 297,000 children entered foster care while 281,000 exited the system. Of the estimated 281,000 children who exited foster care, 55 percent were reunified with parents or primary caretakers and only 18 percent were adopted.

Of the 523,000 in foster care, 39 percent were white, 35 percent were black, 17 percent were Hispanic, and 9 percent were other races. Also of the 523,000 foster kids, 53 percent were male and 48 percent were female.

Do you know how many kids were waiting to be adopted on Sept. 30, 2003? About 119,000. And how many were adopted from the public foster care system in 2003? Only about 50,000.

In monetary spending, The Urban Institute estimated that in FY 2002 the total cost (federal, state and local) for out-of-home care was at least $10 billion.

But the cost to the children caught in the system was immeasurable.

While there are some genuinely good people out there who can provide genuine good foster homes for children, the fact is that the antiquated system is faltering. A great deal of foster kids are really messed up. The situation is no longer just about unwanted pregnancy. The situation now entails physical and emotional abuse, neglect, molestation, drug use and abandonment. These kids cannot be shuffled around like playing cards. Their greatest ally is stability, and the foster care system is not providing it.

It is time for our government to address the issue of unwanted children. It is time for the system to be assessed and restructured. It is time for us to stop ignoring the children. These kids learn from an early age that society doesn't care. We should be ashamed of our indifference.

Yes, I was lucky. I was born to a drug and alcohol-addicted mother. There was no father. My brother was born a year and a half later of the same mother, but a different/indifferent father. My first childhood memory is of the mother getting beaten. I crawled into my brother's crib to hold him while he screamed. We were taken away shortly thereafter. My foster family was cold and apathetic to my needs as an emotionally underdeveloped child. Then I was granted reprieve.

I was literally snatched away and coddled in a home full of love and support. I was adopted, and I thank God every day.