Help Orphans Worldwide, Inc.
Facts About Foster Youth & Orphans
ORPHAN FACTS
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There are over 154 million orphans worldwide.
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Every day 5,726 children become orphans somewhere in the world.
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Every 2.2 seconds another orphan ages out of the system with no family to belong to and no place to call home.
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HIV/AIDS has orphaned 17.9 million children, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
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Over 7 million children are in institutional care worldwide.
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40,000 children under the age of 5 die a week due to unclean water
YOUTH & FOSTER CARE FACTS
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399, 546 children in the US Foster Care system.
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101,719 are waiting to be adopted from the foster care system.
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55,925 children age 1 year and younger were placed in Foster Care
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23, 439 Children “aging out” of the foster system
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The average age of a child waiting to be adopted: 7.8 years old
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Foster Children have a 50% dropout rate
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1 in 30 children is homeless in America.
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50% of youth aging out of the foster care system will be homeless within 6 months because, without a stable home life, they never learned the skills needed to live independently.
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Within 72 hours of being on the streets, a homeless youth is approached for sex.
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49% of homeless youth have been sexually exploited.
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Adopting from foster care is an affordable way to give a child a loving family.
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Most state child welfare agencies can assist with the costs of home studies and court fees, and provide post-adoption subsidies.
*Many employers offer financial reimbursement and paid leave for employees who adopt and Federal and/or state adoption tax credits are available to most families.
*Adopting from foster care is a permanent solution. Once a child is adopted out of foster care, their birth parents cannot attempt to claim them; or fight in court for their return. A family formed through foster care adoption is forever.
ADULT FACTS
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It only takes 1 caring adult to make a difference in the lifetime of a child. Will you be the one to make a difference?
"In you, orphans find mercy" Hosea 14:3