"Children are one third of the
population and all of our future." Anonymous
Child welfare remains one of the most
critical issues facing America and the world as we begin
the 21st Century. Though a great deal of progress has been
made in the effort to assist disadvantaged children during
the past twenty years, there are currently over 600,000
foster children in the United States. In California, there
are 99,000 foster children, or over 16% of all foster
children in the United States.
Foster children are children who do not
now have a permanent family. The majority of these
children are dependents of the local juvenile courts. The
birth parents of these children are not able to fulfill
their responsibility to raise them safely to adulthood.
Foster children typically suffer forms of abuse, neglect,
and abandonment. Many have physical scars; all have
emotional scars. Without a loving family to nurture them,
many of these children never truly find their way in life.
