About the campaign

About The Campaign

A recent study published by the University of Chicago followed a sample of young adults for six years, from the time when they were 17 or 18 years old and still living in temporary foster care.  The results were troubling.  Only 7% of the young women and 5% of the young men had even an associate’s degree.  Fewer than half currently had a job, and most of those working were not earning a living wage (more than one quarter had no income from employment during the past year and half who had worked reported annual earnings of $8,000 or less).  Nearly 40% of these young people have been homeless or “couch surfed” since leaving foster care.  Most notably, as a group, these young people were less educated, more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to experience homelessness, and less likely to be employed than their peers who entered adulthood as part of a permanent family.

The report goes on to say “We should consider the possibility that it is unrealistic to expect youth aging out of foster care to make it on their own when many young people in the general population continue to receive financial and emotional support from their families well into their early adult years.”  It is reasonable to conclude that the benefits of a permanent family, or a concerned, connected adult, can make a difference in the long-term success of a child who was removed from their families because of abuse or neglect.

Thanks to Everyone who came out for The Forgotten Children Rally!

To bring awareness to this issue, and to better connect individuals with ways in which they can get involved, CASA of Allegheny County and the Allegheny County DHS hostes a very exciting event on May 11.  The Forgotten Children Rally was held on Tuesday, May 11^th at noon on the steps of the City-County Building and featured young speakers who were former foster children.

We also to mobilized a flash mob of people who carried cardboard cutouts of children with them to the rally.  Just imagine how much attention our cause will generate if hundreds of people are walking through the city carrying the children’s signs (as illustrated by the photos on this site).  We have also gained support of individuals who are displaying these signs in front of their homes following the rally, creating a buzz throughout individual communities and neighborhoods throughout Pittsburgh.