Foster Care | Brief Overview
Critical Challenges of Foster Care
Children In Care
Children in foster care experience significant trauma from disruption and instability that impact their emotional regulation, relationships, sense of safety, and long-term development. (See sample stats below.)
Birth Parents
Birth parents navigating reunification balance repairing relationships, meeting system requirements, and addressing personal challenges — often with limited resources and inconsistent support.
Foster Parents
Foster parents carry the daily weight of supporting children through trauma, navigating system complexity, and managing unpredictable transitions — a load so heavy that nearly half stop fostering within their first year.
Community-At-Large
Communities care deeply but often lack awareness, proximity, and practical ways to engage — often leaving foster families without the consistent support networks needed to make the journey sustainable.
Foster Care by the Numbers
The scale of foster care is difficult to comprehend. These statistics offer a starting point — a snapshot of what so many children are carrying. Be sure to click through to the end to see how these data points impact their futures.
Stories Behind the Numbers
Statistics can show the magnitude of the problem, but stories begin to reveal the impact. The ReMoved series puts faces and emotions to the experiences behind the numbers — and the weight of their stories is difficult to ignore.
Producers Nathanael & Christina Matanick created the ReMoved short films with the intent “to bring light to the often unknown subjects of Foster Care.” Like TSC, their goal is to “raise awareness and inspire change.” Watching these videos will give you just a glimpse of what foster children and others involved experience.
Data Sources: Foster Care by the Numbers