Foster Care by the Numbers: Why Permanency Can Take Time
This story follows up on More Than a System: How Foster Care and Adoption Shape Lives in the U.S. That project focused on the people behind the system and how gaps in foster care can create barriers to adoption. In this piece, I’m looking at the numbers behind the wait for permanency.
More Than a System: How Foster Care and Adoption Shape Lives in the U.S.
For some children, instability becomes normal. “I thought it was normal for everyone to jump from school to school every month,” said Heather Shrader, who entered foster care as a child before eventually being adopted. Her experience is not unique. Across the United States, hundreds of thousands of children move through the foster care system…
Why Families Feel Stretched Thin Right Now
For a lot of families, it feels like there’s no breathing room anymore. Between rising costs, packed schedules, and constant responsibilities, even doing everything “right” can still feel like it’s not enough. That pressure builds over time and starts to affect how families function day to day.
Inside Family Dynamics 