Congress Recognizes May as National Foster Care Month, Highlights Crisis Facing 369,000 Kids

This resolution formally recognizes May as National Foster Care Month, essentially Congress saying, “We see you, we honor you, and we know there’s a huge problem here.” It doesn't write any new laws or change the budget line items, but it uses the official platform to lay out some seriously tough statistics from 2022 and strongly encourage states and local communities to step up their game on prevention and support for kids in the system.

The Cold Hard Numbers of the System

The resolution doesn't pull any punches when detailing the challenges. In 2022, roughly 369,000 children were in foster care, with nearly 197,000 entering the system that year. For those who need a permanent home, 109,000 children were waiting to be adopted. If you’re a parent, or even just someone who remembers changing schools as a kid, the data on placement instability is shocking: children in care move an average of three times, which means constant school changes for 65 percent of former foster children. That kind of disruption makes it nearly impossible to keep up academically or build stable relationships.

More Than Just Moving: Health and Racial Disparities

The text highlights major disparities that affect kids in care. The resolution notes that children of color often remain in the system longer and are less likely to be reunited with their birth families than their peers. On the health front, there’s a stark warning: foster children on Medicaid are prescribed antipsychotic medications at almost four times the rate of other children on Medicaid. This points to serious mental health challenges and raises questions about how trauma is being managed within the system. For the average person, this is a clear signal that the system is struggling to provide appropriate, non-pharmaceutical care for vulnerable kids.

The Cliff Edge of Aging Out

One of the most heartbreaking parts of the resolution focuses on the roughly 20,000 youth who “age out” of foster care every year without a permanent family connection. The resolution states that a devastating 20 percent of these young adults become homeless immediately. Imagine turning 18 or 21 and being dropped off a cliff with no safety net—that’s the reality for thousands of young people every year. The resolution encourages states to invest in programs that ensure a smoother transition to adulthood, recognizing that these young people need continued support to find housing, jobs, and stability.

The Overworked Heroes: Caregivers and Workers

The resolution takes a moment to acknowledge the people holding the system together: foster parents, especially relative caregivers (kinship care), and child protection workers. It points out that kinship caregivers often receive less financial support and fewer services than non-relative foster parents. Meanwhile, the child protection workforce is under immense strain, with about 8.5 percent of positions vacant, and the average worker only staying for about three years due to heavy caseloads. This high turnover means less consistency and more stress for the children they serve, which is a major implementation challenge for any state trying to improve outcomes.

What Congress Encourages

While this resolution doesn't mandate change, it strongly encourages states and local communities to focus resources on three key areas, primarily through existing federal frameworks like the Family First Prevention Services Act: prevention (stopping kids from entering care in the first place), reunification (helping families get back together safely), and post-permanency support (helping families who have adopted or taken guardianship). In short, Congress is using this resolution to shine a spotlight on a crisis and remind states that the tools and the moral imperative to fix it are already in place—now they just need the investment and commitment.