mizzyandrea@aol.com (Mizzyandrea) wrote in message news:<20031117191107.03468.00000404@mb-m29.aol.com>...

There are currently over half a million children in the foster care system in
the United States today. On average, a child who enters care will remain in
foster care for 32 months, and only about half will return to their parents.
Every year, approximately 18,000 youth will emancipate — or "age-out"— from
the foster care system when they reach age 18 or finish high school. Youth in
foster care often do not get the help they need with high school completion,
employment, accessing health care, continued educational opportunities, housing
and transitional living arrangements. Studies of youth who have left foster
care have shown they are more likely than those in the general population to
not finish high school, be unemployed, and be dependent on public assistance.
Many find themselves in prison, homeless, or parents at an early age

National Fact Sheet 2003
Children referred for possible child abuse and neglect,
2000...2,796,000
Children substantiated or indicated as abused or neglected,
2000...879,000
Children who died as a result of abuse or neglect,
2000...1,236
Children in foster care on September 30, 2000...547,415
Children waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2000...133,057
Grandparents raising grandchildren, 2000...2,431,349
Children who ran away from a foster care placement,
2000...15,811
Children who ran away from home, 1999...1,682,900
Children lacking medical insurance, 2001...8,500,000
Children younger than 6 below the poverty level,
2000...4,000,000

Children younger than 3 had the highest rate of maltreatment in 2000-15.7 per
1,000 children

Enough said.

Actually, NOT enough said.

What is your solution to this supposed "problem" of what appears to be
"too many troubled lives?"