Why We Do It · Facts and Figures What are the outcomes of the foster care system? More than 29,000 foster youth age out of the system each year with no one to call family and no place to call home. 80% of foster youth did not earn enough to be fully self-supporting four years after leaving care, and 90% were earning less than $10,000 a year. Foster care is designed to be temporary, yet the average time in care is over 27 months, and over 67,000 of the children and youth did not have case plans that included permanency goals for living with a family, but rather include plans for long-term foster care or emancipation. 65% of former foster children and youth experienced 7 or more school changes while living in the foster care system. The average child waits for an adoptive family for more than 3 years; 17% spend 5 years or more waiting for a family. Only 3% of foster care alumni complete a 4-year college degree. 46% of foster youth who age out of the system have not completed high school; 48% were unemployed in the first 12-16 months; 25% experienced homelessness within four years after leaving care; 84% became parents outside of wedlock; and 30% became dependent on public assistance. Could the system be doing more? 34% of adults 18-34 years old receive financial assistance from their parents. During this time, parents pay on average $38,340 helping their children transition to adulthood. However, foster youth who age out of the system lack the financial support that is necessary to thrive. 70% of youth aging out express a desire to attend college. Why Encourage Adoption? 123,000 children and youth in foster care are available for adoption because parental rights have been terminated; however, only 55,000 children are adopted each year. Each year, 10% of youth who exit foster care leave without a permanent home or belonging to a family, not returning to their biological family or without being adopted. Only 47% of foster youth age 14 and older lived in foster or pre-adoptive homes, compared to 90% of younger children. 48 million Americans have considered foster care adoption, more so than any other form of adoption. However, they lack awareness and information to move through the adoption process. More needs to be done to connect these families with waiting children. 78% of American adults think more should be done to encourage adoption. Nearly 40% of American adults have considered adopting a child, if just 1 out of every 500 of these adults adopted, every child waiting in foster care would have a permanent family.