Facts and Issues

Higher Rates of Homelessness: A significant proportion of youth who age out of foster care experience homelessness. Studies have found that approximately 31% to 46% of youth experiencing homelessness have a history in foster care. 

Lower Educational Attainment: Compared to their peers, young adults who have aged out of foster care are less likely to graduate from high school or pursue higher education. Research suggests that only around 50% of youth aging out of foster care graduate from high school. 

80% of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, compared to approximately 18-22% of the general population 

65% of children in foster care experience seven or more school changes between elementary and high school. 

59% of foster care youth drop out of high school and less than 5% graduate from a 4-year college.

75% of Bay Area homeless youth were once in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. 

25% of foster youth will be in prison within two years of leaving the foster care system. 

Children of African Ancestry are disproportionately overrepresented at 2X-3X their general population. 

25% will attempt suicide and that’s just for those who are still in the system. For the 23,000 young adults who age out each year, 81% of young men will become incarcerated. 

71% of young women will be pregnant before their twenty-first birthday, with half of their children destined to be placed in the foster care system themselves.