"Foster care to prison pipeline" (is it real?)

Question

So recently i was looking into the negative effects the foster care has on children. And i came across this teen vouge article on "the foster care to prison pipeline". It basically addressed the disproportionate risks of children in foster care at risk for being incarcerated.  I tried to snopes this article but nothing came up. I googled current 2018 statistics on foster care to prison rates and only found an article from 2012 that was the most current. (Not sure if thats still credible) 
That article stated
40-50% of foster children will never complete highschool
66% will be homeless go to jail or die within the first year of leaving the foster care system @18
80% of the prison population was once in foster care
Girls in foster care are 600% more likely to become pregnant b4 the age of 21 (It also quoted this statistic to be "cyclical", so when we never break that cycle we inturn empower it)
I also found a paper written in 2014 evaluating these case studies, thats pretty much in contrast to what those statistics provided if u wanna search it and read it its on sciencedirect.com "does placing children in forster care increase their adult criminality" 
I have a few questions for everyone. 
1. Is the foster care to prison pipe line a "thing"? If so what would be a solution to this problem? 
2. Are there credible sources im not finding? Or can someone explain this to me?

Answer

I’m currently 15 and in the foster care system. I’ve been in the foster care system for most of my life. I can’t verify statistics, but I know a lot of other kids who also are or have been in foster care. Growing up in this system, I think a very strange view of life is formed. I know a lot of homeless kids. I know a lot of young parents. I know a lot of people in prison. I know a lot of drop outs and honestly see myself dropping out. Witnessing domestic violence, which a lot of kids in foster care have, puts them at risk for accepting violence from their partners as well as perpetuating the cycle. Being neglected, abused, or losing a parent of course does something to one’s mental health. People with mental health problems are more susceptible for homelessness and struggling with school and/or finances. I think the rest of society doesn’t understand foster care. And they don’t know how it works. Hell the people who are in foster care and work in the system don’t even know how it works half the time. These kids need adopted. They need stable home lives. Yet people say “it’s expensive.” My foster parents have adopted three kids from foster care at no cost. That’s another story though. 
There are ways to help but you can’t just throw money at the problem and expect things to work. I know they have a program where kids in foster care are able to receive scholarships and whatnot for college. That’s a plus. That’s helpful but it doesn’t solve all the problems. It doesn’t help the root of the problem. For me, my problem is I was continually replaced with someone who consistently emotionally abused me and allowed others to sexually and physically abuse me. My mom would do a 30 day rehab thing and would give her sob story and I’d be right back in her home. And it happens to way more than just me. I don’t get how kids in that situations are supposed to be motivated to want to go to college and get a successful job and be a productive member of society.

Answer

I believe it. Which is exactly why I cannot wait to be a foster parent. I really want to do everything I can to make a difference in even a few kids lives. Even if it's just giving them a stable, loving home for a year.

Answer

My fiancé was a foster child and he’s the FIRST foster child in his home province to attend the provincial university. It was a huge deal when he got in. Most foster kids don’t do that well at all. My fiancé has 4 younger siblings. One is in her early 20s and is coming out of an abusive relationship with a drug dealer. She’s finally starting to try to get some kind of diploma and better herself. Another sister is 18 and lives with an abusive boyfriend who she’s been with since she was 14 and he was 19. She didn’t finish high school. I’ve actually never even met her because my fiancé doesn’t want me around the boyfriend (he hasn’t seen or spoken to her on the phone in years without the boyfriend around). The youngest sister is about to finish high school and may go to college (in Canada college is considered a step below a university). His youngest brother is 12, but he acts much younger. I’d be shocked if he ever amounted to much (it’s very sad, but he has learning disabilities that no one has helped him with and a variety of other factors against him). 
From my personal experience with foster kids, they are high risk. I do believe part of that is due to kids coming from crappy homes and not having anyone to guide them in their fundamental years. That kind of home life leaves scars. I see them all the time in my fiancé. Foster parents can also be really shitty and don’t help the situation at all. Thankfully my fiancé had amazing ones and he gives them credit to saving him from going down a very different route that he says likely would’ve involved drugs, jail, etc. There is also the issue of foster kids going back and forth between foster parents and their birth parents. That doesn’t help switching from one shitty situation to the next or from a bad to a good one. 
There’s defiantly a lot of issues with the foster system. There are some great aspects to it though and when it works the way it’s supposed to I think is great. Those kids need foster parents that are truly in their corner and willing to help them deal with their past and create a future. That doesn’t always work, but even the best parents in the world could raise a kid that turned out to be a monster. I wouldn’t be surprised if those statistics were true. Foster kids certainly are high risk.

Answer

It’s a thing. I took a class on juvenile delinquency in undergrad and this was one one of the risk factors. I’m out right now but I can definitely find credible sources later if you’d like!
I don’t know if anyone watched the earlier seasons of Orange Is The New Black, but Tasty (aka Tasha) explained it well. She grew up in foster care and she didn’t have a family support system. She’s a very intelligent young woman, but when she gets parole, she has nowhere to go. Its not as easy to just walk onto the street and get an apartment. You have to have a background check, references, a deposit, plus there’s usually a waiting period. Same with getting a job. It’s easy to end up homeless this way. Everyone she knows is either in prison themselves, passed away, or gone. In prison, she has a support system, a “family”, and structure to her life. I can understand why someone would end up in prison over and over in a situation like that.

Answer

In my opinion, I believe it depends on three factors that is strong in every person's lively hood and those three are environment, experience,and mindset. The three factors work hand in hand and can, overall, affect the path the person is going down. Despite, those three factors the mindset the person has really depends on the path they will go down if they decide to not what's going on around them affect them and chose to make a path of their own, then they just changed their lives. If they decide to give up, then they will continue to live a hard life that they don't deserve.

Answer

I believe it. A good friend of mine used to be a social worker that worked with foster care children, and from my understanding it’s not easy growing up in the foster care system and many children end up abused and many have so much trauma that causes a lot of mental disorders into their adulthood. Statically, if you grow up in a unstable environment and never feel loved you’re more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol as well as a life of crime. I’m not sure those numbers are accurate, but I can definitely see the correlation.

Answer

I went to school with kids in the system and spent a bit of time in some of their foster homes. It really depends on the kid and the foster parents. 
Some came out great, others not so much. 
All but 2 graduated, 3 have kids that were born before they were 20, as far as I know, none have been to jail and none have died. One did get herself into a lot of trouble but that was because she ran off.

Answer

I would have to see more studies.  Children in foster care may correlate with those ending up in prison, but that doesn’t mean that foster care creates criminals.  There are way too many other factors potentially at play I believe.

Answer

I was in and out of foster homes my entire childhood maybe 15+ homes ive lived in. I can say i think its most definitely adds to trauma and youth growing up to have issues and get in trouble however i dont like that stigma thats always the case, ive been thru some shit in the system but i ended up fine. College degree and all.

Answer

Real, so many of these kids don't have any constant positive parental figures to set morals, standards, and help guide them through life. As far as a solution, I have seen a few things about mentoring programs and I think it's an amazing idea.

"Foster care to prison pipeline" (is it real?)

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