In the state of California alone, 58,699 children were in foster care in 2013, reported kidsdata.org.

“We need families in the community who will take kids into their homes to give them a more normalized experience,” stated a member of the foster care community during an interview. He continued, “These are people who choose to step up and be with kids. Who volunteer to give their lives and not have a lot of resources, but are willing to open up their home and life for a child.”

According to promises2kids.org, many kids have a very rough life before foster care. They reported that 79% of children under the age of four are killed by child abuse. Almost every ten second, a child abuse report is placed. Of these abused and neglected children, 30 % will later go on to abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.

“Honestly, I never really liked talking about my situation, because it was always so complicated or that kids would think I was asking for attention,” stated Jade Moreno, a foster care child. “When I was born, I never got to go home with my mom. I was immediately put into foster care, because they had found meth in my system. That’s when they found out that my two older brothers, Dominic and Devon, were in foster care also. They decided we shouldn’t be separated, so I was put with the same foster parents, Lisa and Fernando. I spent my first Christmas, first birthday, and first steps with them.”

Many people don’t understand that foster care is a system in which a child is placed in the care of a certified parent known as a “foster parent.” These parents are usually chosen for the child by the government or social-service agency.

The leading reason for children to enter foster care is physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, medical neglect, Incarceration, and abandonment. According to adoption.about.com, Many children are put into foster care because of their own choices, not their parents. These reasons could be juvenile offenses, runaways, or truancy.