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In 2021, a staggering 19,000 young individuals in the US faced a daunting reality: aging out of foster care without the security of a permanent family or the comfort of reuniting with their parents. The crucial transition to adulthood, inherently challenging for anyone, becomes an even more formidable journey for these youths. Lacking the foundation of a stable, nurturing family, they confront adulthood alone, often severed from the supportive services and resources foster care once provided. 

Consequently, these young adults are disproportionately vulnerable to a spectrum of serious challenges, including behavioral, mental, and physical health struggles; housing instability and homelessness; difficulties in securing employment and achieving academic success; early parenthood; and a heightened risk of incarceration. These adversities, encountered at such a pivotal moment in their lives, can leave lasting impacts, shaping their futures profoundly.

Surely we can do better. The situation is a real crisis, and the need for families who are passionate about fostering teens is great

About Teens in Care

Teens in foster care, often perceived through a misunderstood lens, are not juvenile delinquents or inherently troubled. Many have faced adversity, such as abuse, neglect, or complex family dynamics, yet these experiences don’t define their character or potential. These resilient and remarkable young people, confronted with challenges beyond their control, deserve recognition for their strength, not stigmatization for their circumstances.

It’s crucial to understand that foster care placement is not a reflection of a child’s behavior but rather a necessary intervention when biological families face insurmountable difficulties. These may include addiction, incarceration, illness, or inability to provide adequate care, leading to situations where a child’s safety and well-being are at risk.

Youth in foster care hold immense potential to flourish in a nurturing and stable environment. They are capable of remarkable achievements and growth, just like any other child. We can help pave their way towards a bright and successful future by providing them with the support and understanding they need.

The Teenage Foster Care Crisis

The absence of a stable foster home can have a lasting impact on a teenager’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

• Teenagers make up 36% of kids in foster care, totaling over 250,000 across the country.
• However, less than 7% of available foster homes accept teens. Many potential foster parents prefer to take in younger children or babies. This preference could be due to various reasons, including perceived ease of care, the desire to experience parenting stages missed earlier, or assumptions about the behavioral challenges of older children.
• Without stable foster placements, many teens end up in group homes. Others bounce between temporary shelters.
• Nearly 25% of teens who age out of foster care will become instantly homeless when they turn 18.

Benefits of Fostering Teenagers

While fostering teenagers comes with unique challenges, it can also be enriching. Reasons families should consider teen foster care include:

• The opportunity to make a massive difference at a critical point in a young person’s life before they age out of the system
• Helping guide teens towards positive choices and preparation for independent living
• Enjoying activities and conversations appropriate for their age and development
• Being inspired by teens’ resilience despite difficult upbringings
• Developing meaningful relationships on the brink of adulthood

Foster families provide the stability and support all teenagers need while gaining perspective from a remarkable young person.

Consider Helping a Teen Transition Into Adulthood

Thousands of teenagers need foster homes every year, making the need urgent and vital. By understanding the unique challenges and opportunities that come with fostering teenagers, more individuals and families may be encouraged to open their homes and hearts to this often-overlooked group.

Providing a nurturing home environment for a teenager, even temporarily, can change the trajectory of their life for the better. If you have any interest or capacity to foster youth in need, please contact Alpha Treatment Centers today. There are young people in your community who need you.

For more than 30 years, Alpha Treatment Centers, Foster Family Agency, and Alpha Adoption Centers have provided resource homes for children and youth and facilitated adoptions. Accredited by CARF International, our organization helps build strong, resilient families. Contact us if you’re ready to make a difference in a child’s life!

Ensuring the safety and well-being of children is the cornerstone of foster care. While foster care may provide a secure and protected environment, adapting to life in foster care can be challenging. It’s disruptive and can be traumatic. Separating siblings entering care can exponentially add to this trauma. 

When a child transitions into care, they don’t just get a new family. They often find themselves in unfamiliar communities, adjusting to new schools, and yearning for the friends left behind. Uprooting everything they’ve ever known, even if their situation included neglect or abuse, can deeply traumatize them, instilling acute anxiety.

The bond between siblings is a powerful anchor — deep, enduring, and unwavering. In times of adversity, it becomes an irreplaceable pillar of support, resilience, and self-identity. Continue reading to learn why keeping siblings together for children in care is beneficial and crucial.

Benefits of Keeping Siblings Together

Keeping siblings together provides continuity and allows them to navigate their new living situation with a source of familiarity. It also avoids severing important sibling bonds, which can negatively impact their development and well-being. 

Studies show that living with siblings in foster care can act as a safeguard, mitigating the potential negative impacts commonly encountered in placements. Maintaining sibling relationships contributes to more positive outcomes overall, including:

Emotional Support and Stability

Sibling relationships provide a unique kind of emotional support that offers significant comfort when thrust into an unfamiliar environment. A sibling offers: 

• A sense of familiarity in a new setting
• Shared experiences that can help process trauma
• An emotional anchor during uncertain times

Preservation of Identity and Family Ties

Siblings often share cultural, familial, and historical ties. Data suggests that children who maintain connections with their siblings have a stronger sense of identity and belonging. Keeping them together can:

• Preserve a sense of family identity
• Maintain connections to their shared past
• Reinforce cultural and family values

Improved Behavioral and Mental Health Outcomes

Children separated from their siblings in foster care frequently display increased behavioral issues and encounter heightened mental health challenges. For example, a study from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being has shown that children and youth in care who maintain quality sibling relationships have lower depression symptoms.

Keeping siblings together can:

• Reduce feelings of isolation
• Lower instances of depression and anxiety
• Foster better interpersonal skills

Increased Chances of Successful Placements

Keeping siblings together results in more successful foster care placements due to: 

• Fewer placement disruptions
• Higher adoption rates
• Greater satisfaction reported by foster parents

Long-Term Relationship Benefits

Siblings are often life-long companions. Maintaining their bond during foster care is an investment in their future relationship. A recent article in Psychology Today highlights why sibling relationships matter. Benefits include:

• Lifelong emotional support
• Stronger family connections
• A shared history that can help navigate future challenges

Challenges of Keeping Siblings Together

Keeping siblings together in foster care presents several challenges stemming from systemic and logistical complexities. 

Siblings in care often have complex emotional bonds, with older siblings having sometimes served as primary caregivers for younger ones. Separating them can disrupt these established roles and attachments, leading to feelings of guilt, anxiety, and loss. 

Foster care systems and organizations often face a shortage of resources, including a lack of foster families able or willing to take multiple children, mainly if the siblings are part of a large family group. As a result, siblings can be placed in separate homes, sometimes even in different towns or states, exacerbating the trauma of being removed from their original home environment. 

Additionally, siblings may have varying needs, with some requiring specialized care or therapy that might be available in different locations. Ensuring that each child’s individual needs are met while also preserving their familial bonds can be a delicate balancing act. 

Legislative Efforts and Recent Initiatives

In recognition of the importance of sibling bonds, there have been legislative efforts to prioritize keeping siblings together. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 was the first federal law to address the importance of keeping siblings together unless it’s not in the best interest of a child. It requires states to reasonably maintain sibling connections to receive federal funding. 

In addition, certain states, like California, have enacted a “Sibling Bill of Rights,” which outlines the rights of siblings in the foster care system, including the right to be placed together when possible.

Start Building Your Family Today 

For more than 30 years, Alpha Treatment Centers, Foster Family Agency, and Alpha Adoption Centers have provided resource homes for children and youth and facilitated adoptions. Accredited by CARF International, our organization helps build strong, resilient families. Contact us if you’re ready to make a difference in a child’s life!