Learn more about foster care
- There are more than 16,000 children currently in foster care in Ohio.
- More than 26,700 children were in foster care at some point in 2018, up nearly 3,184 since the previous report in 2016.
- The cost of placing children in foster care increased $53 million during those two years to $384 million.
- Ohio has only 7,200 licensed foster homes.
- About 100,000 grandparents, including 9,400 in Franklin County, are raising grandchildren. The number of children in kinship care has increased by 47 percent since 2016.
Statistics on Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
According to Casey Family Programs, about 25,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 21 must leave foster care each year. These young people have experienced maltreatment and have lived with instability. So it will probably come as no surprise that they are often ill prepared to suddenly live independently and figure out on their own how to do what the foster care system was set up to do for them—feed, clothe, and house them. Aging out of foster care without a permanent home is the highest-risk outcome for a foster youth.
Let’s take a look at some statistics:
• Approximately 25% of former foster youth nationwide reported that they had been homeless within 2 to 4 years of exiting foster care. (National Alliance to End Homelessness).
• Foster youth approach the transition to adulthood with significant educational deficits:
> They are 14 times more likely not to complete college than the general population (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
> They are more than twice as likely not to have a high school diploma or GED as their peers (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
• About 25% of foster care alumni experience post-traumatic stress (compared to 4% of the general population) (Northwest Foster Care Alumni Survey).
• The unemployment rate among foster care alumni was 47% (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
• Youth in the system receive healthcare through Medicaid and are at risk of losing this coverage once they age out of care; only half of young adults leaving care have medical insurance (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
• Thirty percent of youth participating in the Midwest Study reported being arrested; 15% reported being convicted of a crime; and 29% reported being incarcerated (Chapin Hall Midwest Study at Age 21).
From National CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates)
According to Casey Family Programs, about 25,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 21 must leave foster care each year. These young people have experienced maltreatment and have lived with instability. So it will probably come as no surprise that they are often ill prepared to suddenly live independently and figure out on their own how to do what the foster care system was set up to do for them—feed, clothe, and house them. Aging out of foster care without a permanent home is the highest-risk outcome for a foster youth.
Let’s take a look at some statistics:
• Approximately 25% of former foster youth nationwide reported that they had been homeless within 2 to 4 years of exiting foster care. (National Alliance to End Homelessness).
• Foster youth approach the transition to adulthood with significant educational deficits:
> They are 14 times more likely not to complete college than the general population (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
> They are more than twice as likely not to have a high school diploma or GED as their peers (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
• About 25% of foster care alumni experience post-traumatic stress (compared to 4% of the general population) (Northwest Foster Care Alumni Survey).
• The unemployment rate among foster care alumni was 47% (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
• Youth in the system receive healthcare through Medicaid and are at risk of losing this coverage once they age out of care; only half of young adults leaving care have medical insurance (Chapin Hall Midwest Study).
• Thirty percent of youth participating in the Midwest Study reported being arrested; 15% reported being convicted of a crime; and 29% reported being incarcerated (Chapin Hall Midwest Study at Age 21).
From National CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates)
Some facts about youth who have "aged out" of foster care
Statistics on the life situations of former Ohio foster youth at age 19