Even though we spend more than $25 billion a year in the United States assisting children who have been abused, abandoned and neglected, the results have been dismal. The system, in spite of devoted social workers, has yet to find safe, supportive, permanent families for many of these kids. It’s not the time and talent, it’s the system full of outdated policies and procedures. They are so misaligned that they fail to promote programs and procedures providing better results for the children. Casey’s Congressional call-to-action recommends several changes that can promote proven practices in creating permanent family alignments for our most vulnerable children.
Each year, more than 900,000 children in the U.S. become victims – 75% from neglect and 25% from physical or sexual abuse. Until we address the problems of out-of-home placements, the idea that we are protecting children will remain an illusion.
