Did you know that 85% of americans in prison do not have a high school diploma and that 70% of those were once in our foster care system?
Most kids in the foster system "age out" on their 18th birthday. Before you judge these kids by a statistical number take a moment to try on their shoes. Try to remember all the way back to your 18th birthday. Did you have a huge party or get a dream gift? Did you spend the day surrounded by friends? I remember mine. I had just been utterly heartbroken by a boy I adored and spent the entire week sobbing and feeling sorry for myself. The truth was I knew nothing of true heartache, nothing. I could not have imagined being thrown out of a house, handed a rent payment, or even told that I was on my own for food. Can you imagine your 18 year old self finding out that you were completely alone? Where would you go and what would you do with your life? Can you really blame them for turning to crime? Can you blame them for not finishing high school when they were out trying to find a way to eat their next meal?
Some of them did have ample opportunity to change and chose not to, but too many of them became part of a statistic simply because nobody cared enough.
~Katie
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