Mental Health in Foster Care

Mental health is the most unmet health need for children and teens in foster care. Mental health requires the presence of a stable caregiver in the child's life. 47.9% of youth in foster care are determined to have clinically significant emotional or behavioral problems. There is also a high rate of psychiatric disability in youth who have aged out of the system. Of the children in foster care for at least a year, only 23% of them received any mental health services. These mental health issues can be caused by past stressors in the child’s life, including repeated abuse, prolonged neglect, or lack of a stable environment during early years of life. One reason there is such a high number of children with mental health issues who are not being treated is the cost to taxpayers. Placement in therapeutic foster care can cost $30,000 or more annually and placement in residential psychiatric care is even higher in cost. Fostering a child can have a significant influence on mental health problems. If the child is raised in a stable home for an extended period of time, severe problems are less likely to occur. Children respond best to being raised in routine environments. There are many charts and statistics on this topic. Many comparisons are made between the treatment of foster care youth versus the non-foster care youth. There is a difference in treatment, foster youth suffer more from mental health problems and are prescribed more medication.

This chart shows the comparison of how mental health issues are covered among kids who are not in foster care in relation to those who are.

These next two charts show the difference in treatment between foster care youth and the non-foster care youth, focusing on the prescription of antipsychotics and psychotropic prescriptions. The number of foster youth prescribed these medications is much higher than that of the rest of children.

This chart compares the number of disabilities and mental health in foster care (blue) against the general population (red).

This next chart is just the general statistics about mental health in foster care and how they suffer from PTSD. 50% of youth in foster care have chronic medical problems. 40-60% have at least one mental health disorder. They suffer PTSD at 2x the rate of returning war vets.

This final chart shows how foster care alumni are more likely to suffer from mental health disorders than the general population.

What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is a way of guiding a child in foster care in order for them to have a better future. There are many programs that help accomplish this goal, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and Foster Care to Success (FC2S). Foster youth planning to attend college are often at a disadvantage. Many of them are the first of their families to graduate high school and even have the desire to attend college. Due to the fact that foster kids move often and attend many different schools, they are less prepared for the difficulty of college-level work. Also, many of them are trying to accomplish this alone or do not have any connections with caring adults.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a support program that helps to shape a child's future for the better by empowering them to succeed. Through this program, people volunteer to spend time with kids who do not have strong support from families at home. They can help by giving advice and inspiration. There are 21,000 boys waiting for a Big Brother, which is double the amount of girls waiting for a Big Sister. The Big meets with the Little a few times a month. This program is trying to help children avoid risky behaviors and help them improve their self-confidence. They also try to provide success in education. They try to encourage children to set higher goals for high school and college, improve their confidence in themselves, and help them have stronger relationships with their families. They focus this program to those who need the most help, such as kids coping with parental incarceration. They operate in 370 communities across the United States and target the kids who could benefit most from their program.

FC2S is a non-profit academic success program working to set up college funds for foster youth. They have been mentoring students since 1981, and currently do this through a web portal. They match kids with volunteers who are interested in their lives and education. The goal of the academic success program is to provide students with the encouragement and guidance they need to do well academically and personally. This works by coaches making a one-year commitment to support three to four students with at least weekly communication, generally consisting of one to three hours a week. Approximately 5,000 students are helped by Foster Care to Success a year. They provide 24/7 support, always being open to phone calls. Every student in their program receives financial assistance, mentoring, career coaching, care packaging, and just attention in general from an adult who cares. 61% of the scholars from this program graduate within five years, which is a percentage higher than that of the overall U.S. population. Without programs like these, less than 10% of foster youth graduate college.

“Those foster youth who achieve success can generally point to one or two special adults who have supported them along the way. Along with social services, school and community resources and support, studies show that a stable relationship with a caring adult can make all the difference.”
- Eileen McCaffrey, Executive Director of Foster Care to Success.