Supporting Children in Foster Care in the U.S. and Israel

Today, May 7th, is National Foster Care Day — a time to raise awareness about the nearly 370,000 children in the U.S. foster care system and the adults who care for them. The date also marks seven months since the October 7th attacks by Hamas terrorists in Israel. On that day, 18 children became orphans when both of their parents were murdered.

Both the U.S. and Israel face serious challenges and require systemic reform and heightened awareness among the public.

“The nearly 370,000 children in foster care deserve to grow up in safe and loving homes that help them reach their full potential,” President Joe Biden said in his April 30th proclamation about the American foster care system. He said that recent initiatives such as tax credits, housing vouchers, job training, and healthcare access can help those aging out of the system find stability.

Still, systemic issues remain pervasive and support from individuals and nonprofit organizations are integral, both in the U.S. and Israel.

A 2022 report from Haaretz included sobering numbers that exposed the issues plaguing Israel’s foster care system. The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Social Services admitted that only 42 out of 810 required annual reviews were completed in 2018. Oversight lapses and limited workforce availability compound these issues, and children end up spending too much time bouncing from one temporary home to the next.

The Jerusalem Post reported in 2023 that there were nearly 3,800 children in Israel who lived in foster homes. The May 2023 State Comptroller of Israel report was even worse, stating that “1,149 children in Israel under the age of 8 (of which 474 children are under the age of 5) were placed in boarding schools instead of foster families in 2016−2021, in contravention of the guidelines, which set the minimum age for placement in boarding schools at 8 years; 87% of the children in foster care were not assigned care plans as required by the Foster Care Law and the Ministry of Welfare’s Social Work Regulations.” It also found that the “adoption procedure lasts 26 months on average, twice the maximum time set in the law.”

The October 7th Hamas attacks had a devastating impact on Israeli children, leaving families shattered. In April, The Jerusalem Post reported:

• 31 young people under 25 lost both parents: 18 minors and 13 young adults.
• 250 minors lost one parent, and three have a parent still held captive in Gaza.

“The fact that so many children are victims of the brutal Hamas attack turns the stomach,” Israel Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Ya’akov Margi said in a statement to the Times of Israel 16 days after the attacks.

In the U.S, Biden’s Foster Care Month proclamation emphasized the lasting impact on foster youth separated from their biological families, with a disproportionate effect on children of color. While recent policy changes have expanded support, much more needs to be done. Biden proposes providing more funding for job support, education, and healthcare for youth inside of and aging out of foster care.

Actress Angela Featherstone, a former foster youth herself, is dedicating her life to supporting transition-aged foster youth in finding purpose and stability.

“If it were truly helping kids, why are 80% of all trafficking survivors from foster care?” Featherstone told the Journal. “Why are 40% of the homeless in Los Angeles County from foster care? Why are so many prisoners former foster youth?” Featherstone was one of the fortunate former foster youths, having found her footing after transitioning out of foster care in Canada in the 1980s. She told the Journal in 2022 about how being taken in by Toronto’s Jewish community in her early 20s gave her the stability to carry on where so many foster youth fall apart. That is why Featherstone created the nonprofit Fostering Care which aims to fill the gaps in so many basic necessities for fostering youth aging out of foster care. Their holistic 90-day program that includes housing and transportation, medical care and counseling, life skills training, and spiritual development through meditation, health, exercise, and prayer.

“If it were truly helping kids, why are 80% of all trafficking survivors from foster care?” Featherstone told the Journal. “Why are 40% of the homeless in Los Angeles County from foster care? Why are so many prisoners former foster youth?” – Angela Featherstone

“We’re helping them to individuate and become self-realized by enhancing the spark inside each one through meditation, health, wellness, exercise, prayer, and study,” Featherstone said.

Even with looming funding cuts to mental health services in California, Featherstone is determined to ensure her graduates become leaders in their own right. “Our graduates will become teachers and practitioners, and they’ll get to take this incredible work that was so freely given to me and will be so freely given to them out into the world.”

In Israel, there are organizations such as The Summit Institute, which “rescues and cares for 750 at-risk Israeli children who have been removed from their homes after being severely abused, neglected or orphaned.” In a recent interview with Jewish News Syndicate, Yonatan Bogut, the CEO of the Summit Institute, called for immediate recognition of the children orphaned Hamas’ terror attacks as foster children so they can access the care and support they need.

The emotional toll of separation and trauma cannot be overstated. But children are often reluctant to share their stories of neglect with the media, even if given the opportunity to do so anonymously.

A new organization in Israel, the Israeli Children’s Fund (ICF) is providing financial aid and social support to the orphaned children in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. ICF already raised $500,000 to fund orphaned children “while establishing the financial, legal, and structural foundation for long-term stability.” Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Featherstone is assembling resources and experts for her organization, Fostering Care, which continues to seek dedicated funding and strategic partnerships. The 90-day system Fostering Care will implement upon launch is designed to guide graduates to become mentors and teachers for the growing number of foster youth struggling as they transition out of care.

“The key to unlocking the potential within each young person is through love, support, and the right tools for self-discovery,” she said. “We are here to provide them with everything they need to break the cycle and rewrite their story. Every young person has a unique gift to share with the world. Our role is to help them realize their potential and become the best version of themselves. True healing and growth come from within. When we nurture that divine spark, we set forth a cycle of positive transformation that can ripple out into the world.”