Research shows that adults who were formerly in foster care are more likely than the general population to succumb to poor life outcomes.

• They are more likely to be homeless, unprepared for employment and limited to low-skill jobs, and dependent on welfare or Medicaid.
• They are also more likely than the general population to be convicted of crimes and incarcerated, to abuse drugs and alcohol, or to have poor physical or mental health.
• Research has shown that women who have been in foster care experience higher rates of early pregnancy and are more likely to see their own children placed in foster care.

Many of these problems are at least in part a product of problems in the classroom, where foster children tend to have lower educational attainment than their peers. Foster children on average have lower scores on standardized tests and higher absenteeism, tardiness, truancy, and dropout rates. Overall, a synthesis of available research evidence published by the Child Welfare League of America found that "Almost all of the reviewed studies of those who were in out-of-home care revealed that the subject's level of educational attainment is below that of other citizens of comparable age."¹

This is not surprising when one considers the many problems and challenges that foster children commonly experience at school. These common problems include instability, persistent low expectations, poor adult advocacy on their behalf, inadequate life-skills training, and a failure to receive needed special education services.

This problem description is adapted from the article Improving Educational Opportunities For Foster Children originally delivered as a Heritage Foundation Lecture #1050 on June 19, 2007