Why this Topic Matters to Us
Mental health is essential for young people, parents, and caregivers. It affects how they handle stress, make choices, and care for themselves and others. For those impacted by the child welfare system, mental health support provides healing, building of confidence, and creating healthy relationships. Parents and caregivers also face emotional challenges and need support to care for children well. The voices of young people, parents, and caregivers matter because they know what works and what needs to change. When we listen to their lived experience, we create better services, stronger families, and a more supportive child welfare system.
80% of foster youth report facing mental health challenges, yet a significant number of young people do not receive the necessary and appropriate mental health support
Learn from Lived Experience
"I’ve heard a lot of 'it’s my way or the highway' ideas and that as long as you’re fed and you have a roof over your head, you shouldn’t be depressed, you shouldn’t be bothered. That a foster youth shouldn’t be thinking like that. So it’s important that foster parents have more training on that emotional need and that concept of foster youth needing mental health support.”
— Nia Pitts, 12 years in the foster care system, Pennsylvani
