OCTOBER 10: WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

October 10 is World Mental Health Day, a day to highlight issues surrounding mental health, and the need for supportive efforts.⁠⠀
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We know that foster care WILL most likely affect a child's mental health, in more ways than one.⁠

​Children are removed from their homes and placed into foster care as a result of neglect or physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. These kids have also likely experienced other disadvantages such as poverty, parental drug and alcohol abuse, and more.⁠ And while in foster care, they are likely to move between placements multiple times - which means multiple sets of parents and siblings, houses, schools, friends, routines, and lifestyles to become familiar with, if they even have time to before moving again.⁠

When this type of complex trauma and stress happens so early in life, there are long-lasting effects on the child's brain chemistry and their psychological, emotional, mental and behavioral health. They are more likely to miss developmental milestones, struggle in school and have learning disabilities, and are less likely to graduate. And the longer children in foster care go without the proper intervention and healing, the more their mental health can decline as they age.⁠⠀

We know the following statistics to be true:

• According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, up to 80% of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, compared to roughly 20% of the general population.
• There is a significantly higher risk for children growing up in foster care to struggle with depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, and behavioral and conduct issues.
• In 2005, a Harvard University study confirmed that children in foster care in the US experienced trauma in the form of PTSD at a rate more than 2x that of combat veterans.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics says that mental health is one of the "greatest unmet health needs for children and teens in foster care."

​This is why we strive to build community around foster families and youth. Our local caregivers deserve our support. And children need time to trust that their world is stable and safe. They need to be surrounded by healthy adults that allow them to feel seen, heard, valued and capable.⁠⠀
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Mental health matters.⁠ And we can help.


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https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/mental-health-and-foster-care.aspx⁠⠀
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/138/5/e20161118