The Pressing Truth About Adoption And Foster Care

Fact No 1 - There nearly half a million, and constantly increasing numbers, of children in foster homes in the US alone. There should be millions more out there throughout the globe. One fourth of that population are legally parentless and waiting for kind-hearted "people who need people" to take them in and give them homes.

Second point - When these children have grown to 18 years of age, they are no longer eligible for foster care. Unless their foster parents adopt them, they are sent away in disappointment. What sort of life awaits them out there, given that they may not have had enough guidance during their years in foster care is a big question mark.

Fact No 3 - In comparing adoption and foster care, it is sad to think about it but some instances, children in foster care have to go from family to family within the course of the time they are allowed to remain in the system. Needless to say, having to be 'uprooted' time and again is not good for the personal development of children. The fact that they have to cope with having new parents every now can impede the progress of the children.

Comparing adoption and foster care, although a certain amount of funding is provided for children to go into foster care, the structure of that system has been found to have many weaknesses which will be too detailed to discuss here. Enough for us to know that children who have foster parents usually do not get a physically and psychologically wholesome environment to grow up in.

Fact No. 4 - In America, the average population per family has gone down from 3.76 for each of the 26 million families in the 1940's to 3.13 for 60 million families in 2007. The difference between the total family population in 2007 and in 1940 is 3.13 x 60 million - 3.76 x 26 million. That is 187,800,000 - 97,760,000 or 11,960,000.

The number of families in the US in 1940 was 26 million. In 2007 it went up to 60 million. The difference is 34 million. If we are to assume that all those families have a mother and a father, there are 68 million more parents today than in 1940.

Since we know that that is not true because, firstly, not all families have moms and dads. However we can only conclude that there has been a drastic drop in the population of dependents and children in families...or that...and this seems to be the more likely explanation, the number of children without families has dramatically gone up.

Fact - Comparing adoption and foster care, today the government is in favor of adoption rather than foster care for homeless children. This is obviously because the kids have a better chance to develop as they should when they become permanent member of a family. The subsidies granted to children who are adopted extend all the way into the pre-adoption processes; the home studies, the court fees and others. Besides that there are also post-adoption funds. If you have been thinking of adopting children, you should take some time to visit an organization or website that can assist you in reaching this very worthy dream.

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