By the Numbers

This week we wanted to give you some statistics about orphans, foster care, and adoption focusing on our home state of North Carolina, the United States, and the world. 

North Carolina:

In 2003 (most recent data available to the public), there were 9,534 North Carolinian children in foster care.

At the end of FY 2003,  3,097 children were still in foster care and waiting to be adopted; only 1,296 were adopted during the year.

 United States:

In 2009, 423,773 American children were in foster care.  69,947 parents of these children had their parental rights terminated (this number only includes situations in which all parents have lost parental rights).

The average stay for a child in foster care is just over 2 years (26.7 months); each child will likely have at least two foster home placements each year.

Foster children in the US have higher rates of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 15.1% compared to 4.5% in the general population), conduct disorder (20.7% compared to 7.0%), major depressive disorder (19.0% compared to 11.9%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 13.4% compared to 5.2%).

Over 25% of the homeless population in the US spent a part of their childhood in foster care.

Only 54% of foster children graduate high school and only 10.8% will receive at least a BA (compared to 24.4% of the general population).

World:

Every 2.2 seconds a child loses a parent somewhere in the world.

Every day 5,760 more children in the world become orphans.

Unicef estimates that 153 million children were orphaned in 2009 (which does NOT include children who have been abandoned).  16.6 million became orphans due to HIV/AIDS; 14.9 million of these children lived in Africa.*

Each day 38,493 orphans age out of care.

In Russia and the Ukraine, studies have shown that 10% – 15% of these children commit suicide before they reach age eighteen.

These studies also show that 60% of the girls become prostitutes and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.

Another Russian study reported that of the 15,000 orphans aging out of state-run institutions every year, 10% committed suicide, 5,000 were unemployed, 6,000 were homeless and 3,000 were in prison within three years.

  *These numbers do not include all countries due to lack of reporting.

  

We aren't listing these facts to make anyone feel guilty or more compelled to support us financially.  We share them to draw your attention to the problem and the long-term consequences associated with being an orphan who is never united with a forever home.  We feel so blessed to have been raised in Christian homes with two parents (for a total of four!) that loved us more than we can ever express.  To share even an ounce of what we've been blessed to have with an orphan may have an impact that we'll never fully know.

Thanks for joining with us on this journey!