The Complex Mental Health Needs of Children in Foster Care

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Studies estimate that up to 90% of children in foster care have experienced trauma, and up to 80% deal with important mental health issues.

These backgrounds, combined with the experience of being uprooted from their homes, can lead to significant struggles for both foster children and their families.

“Kids who are entering the foster care system are managing so many different transitions simultaneously,” said Liz Gravallese-Anderson, a psychologist with the Safe Place Treatment and Support Program at the ChildrenS Hospital of Philadelphia, which offers services for children who’ve experienced abuse and neglect.

First and foremost, Gravallese-anderson says, is the transition to a new home. This comes with new rules, new routines, and new relationships with foster parents and, potentially, foster siblings.On top of that, many kids have to switch schools, leaving their old friends behind, and they may find themselves worrying about the biological family they left behind.

“I think just one of those experiences alone can cause somebody to feel a considerably increased sense of loneliness and isolation.”