Where it's the New Orleans area, North Louisiana, Baton Rouge or Acadiana, there are hundreds of teenagers that need a home.

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services has begun a new campaign to educate people about the multitude of teenagers who need a good home.

While teenagers who need a home make up 20% of all foster children needing a home, there are less than 5% of families that are willing to accept/or can accept a teen into their home.

Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says,

When there aren't enough foster homes available for teens in their own communities, it means leaving their schools, friends, activities, after-school jobs - everything familiar to them - to enter a system that is also unfamiliar and disorienting. Having foster parents who are open to making that transition smoother, and who are invested in helping our teens make and maintain connections within their communities, is so important to ensuring their success in the world.

So here are some of the negative outcomes research shows happen for teenagers who do not receive support:

  • Reduced rates of completing high school
  • Reduced rates of post-secondary or vocational programs
  • Increased rates of homelessness
  • Increased rates of incarceration
  • Increased rates of substance abuse
  • Increased rates of unemployment
  • Increased rates of early pregnancy
  • Increased rates of dependency on public assistance

The DCFS campaign will include some new printed material after the department received a donation from the group One Heart NOLA.

Click here if you would like to find out more about adopting a teenager.

 

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