FOSTER FAMILIES AND RUNAWAYS CHILDREN – Are they the answer or not?

Informative chart about foster families. Adapted by: Mora K. (2015)

Are there runaways from foster homes?

Yes, Preliminary estimates are that of the 423,773 U.S. children in foster care on September 30, 2009, 8,047 (2%) had a "runaway" status (CWIG, 2011).

13 of the 4,707 children who entered care in 2008-09 (or about a quarter of 1%) left the system by running away (Duncan, et al., 2012)

Recently researchers from the National Runaway Switchboard (Pergamit & Ernst, 2011) interviewed 50 foster youth aged 14 to 17 years old. The results figure in the box

Source: Fostering Perspectives Vol. 18, No. 2 - May, 2014.

Source: 

• D'Arcy Lyness, PhD, on March 2014, founded in: < www.kidshealth.org >
• Child Welfare Information Gateway Web site. < www.childwelfare.gov >
• Williams, Linda M. (2011) "Community Responsibility for Runaway and Thrownaway Youth--Commentary," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 11. Available at: <http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol2/iss1/11 >

By: Kevin Mora.