Why are kids in foster care?

In Texas, Child Protective Services completed 242,103 investigations in 2019. Of those, they confirmed 67,313 children were victims of abuse or neglect, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

What are the biggest needs in foster care in Texas?

• Care of older children close to aging out of the foster care system
• Therapeutic foster care
• Sibling group foster care

What happens to kids who age out of foster care?

In Texas, more than 1,000 kids age out of the foster care system each year, leaving them vulnerable to homelessness, abuse and more, according to Christian Alliance for Orphans.

What is therapeutic foster care?

More than 5,000 kids have therapeutic needs (moderate, specialized, intense levels) within Texas, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. There are two levels of therapeutic foster care available through Buckner. Below are a few examples of what you will find in both levels of care.

Moderate level:

• ADHD, requiring medication to manage as well as seeing behaviors such as impulsivity, inability to focus and physical aggression
• Autism
• Non-debilitating medical conditions such as diabetes
• Developmental delays, requiring regular therapy to help child become on target, impacts child’s daily living skills
• Behaviors or conditions requiring frequent therapy appointments
• Needs increased levels of supervision

Specialized level:

• Frequent aggressive behaviors
• Developmental delays that affects and impairs daily living skills and requiring frequent therapy
• History of and current risk of self-harm
• Constant supervision

How many kids are separated from their siblings when they’re placed in foster care?

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reports that 6,397 sibling groups in the state of Texas are currently in foster care. Of those, 33.8% of them are not placed together. The multiple losses a child experiences when entering foster care is compounded by the unexpected loss of sibling separation. As one foster care alumni shared, “Being separated from my entire life was bad enough but being separated from my siblings is still painful.”

A 2017 study published in The Chronicle of Social Change found that half of the states in the U.S. are in a foster housing crisis.

According to Ephesians 1, God chose us for adoption through Christ before he ever spoke the world into existence. In his glorious, indescribable, incomprehensible grace, he determined to call us – we who would fall short; we who would betray him for other loves; we who would be consumed by selfish desires – sons and daughters in Christ. He is determined to love us, to want us, to pursue us, to choose us and to adopt us.

We ourselves have been adopted. Our God is a God of adoption. Above all else, this is why we are compelled to care for at-risk children through foster care and adoption.

Start your foster care or adoption journey with Buckner today! Fill out our online inquiry form to get started. Then, a Buckner foster care and adoption representative will contact you directly with questions and information on next steps.

If you are not able to foster or adopt a child at this time, here are a few ways that you can help a foster family in your community: