Children are in foster care because they or their families are going through a crisis. Often these children — from babies to teens — have been removed from their parents because they are unsafe, abused or neglected, or their parents are unable to care for them.
Foster care is intended to be a temporary situation until a parent can get back on track or a relative, guardian or adoptive family agrees to raise a child. By law, children are supposed to have contact with family — their parents, brothers and sisters — through regular visits while they are in foster care. Unfortunately, when multiple siblings end up in the foster system, it's often harder to find homes that will take all of the siblings together, and they can end up separated.
To these foster children, being away from family and familiar surroundings, and not always knowing what’s next, are among the hardest parts of foster care. On the other hand, while they miss their families, children may realize that being in foster care can be a better solution, at least temporarily.
The fact is - they can't do it alone. More than 11,000 children in North Carolina are now in foster homes. The US Foster Care System currently houses over 422,000 children, and more than 23,000 children will age out of the US Foster Care System each year.
Giving Kids Hope Foundation, Inc. needs your help to make sure foster kids in North Carolina receive the things they need - whether their situation is temporary or more long-lasting - and make this difficult situation a little less frightening.
Giving Kids Hope Foundation, Inc. is a Hickory, North Carolina based non-profit organization that focuses on improving and enriching the lives of children living in either individual foster homes or group homes, with special emphasis on youth who are aging out of the foster care system. Help us help the children - they are our future.
