Why Get Involved
A foster youth is a child or teenager who cannot safely live with their birth family, so a court places them in the care of the state — with a foster family, relatives, or a group home. Most stay for months or years, and thousands reach adulthood in care without ever being adopted or reuniting with family.
Why foster youth need our help
- 344,000+
- children spent time in foster care in the U.S. in 2024.
- 1 in 3
- foster youth experience homelessness by age 21.
- ~20,000
- youth "age out" of foster care every year — turning 18 or 21 without a permanent family.
- About half
- of youth in foster care finish high school by age 18, compared with most of their peers.
- Fewer than 1 in 10
- former foster youth go on to earn a college degree.
Sources
- Children in foster care in 2024: Child Trends analysis of federal AFCARS data, May 2026. 344,000 U.S. Children of All Ages Lived in Foster Care in 2024
- Housing through age 21: Child Trends analysis of the four completed National Youth in Transition Database cohorts found that two thirds remained stably housed through age 21; about one third had experienced homelessness by age 21, February 2026. Two Thirds of Foster Youth Remain Stably Housed Through Age 21
- Aging out: the U.S. Children’s Bureau’s AFCARS reports have counted roughly 20,000 youth emancipating from foster care each year. AFCARS data — U.S. Children’s Bureau
- High school completion: the National Working Group on Foster Care and Education reports about half of youth in foster care complete high school by age 18. National Working Group on Foster Care and Education
- College completion: national studies consistently find that fewer than 10% of former foster youth earn a college degree. Casey Family Programs research
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