EP 902 The Long Tail Effects of Being a Foster Child

 There are over 400,000 children in foster care in America, costing the state and federal government over $30 billion a year.  So, is the system working?  It’s hard to say the system is failing, but perhaps it’s more accurate to say that adults all along the way–from the biological families to a host of caregivers–are unable to build the attachments and connections which can lead to a healthy adult life.  How else can we explain the fact that children who have been in foster care exhibit nearly twice the rate of PTSD as Iraq war veterans?  Childhood trauma can result in greater likelihood of arrest and imprisonment and even shorter lifespans.  To dissect this complicated issue, our guest, Claudia Rowe, author of “Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care” followed six foster kids across the country for a number of years to really study the effects of their experience.  The book, and our conversation, are eye-opening.

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