It’s time SC allowed every child to have a ‘forever’ home and a real childhood.

Children without ‘forever’ homes are those uprooted and shuffled through SC’s foster care system following abuse, neglect or abandonment by their birth parents.  While the courts and agencies can spend years deciding where a child will end up, he or she is often moved from one temporary home another. That means different schools, different rules and constantly changing friends and neighbors.  Too often, children in care are also separated from their siblings.  One can easily understand why they are at increased risk for problems down the road.  And so the cycle of dysfunction continues.

It’s not hard to grasp the human tragedy for these children, our hidden ‘homeless.’ But it’s not just their problem  This travesty affects every aspect of our lives, too — whether  you realize it or not. It negatively impacts our judicial, penal, educational and health care systems, as well as our economy, quality of life and taxes. It contributes to poverty, homelessness, drug use, teen pregnancy, crime and high school drop out rates. It affects all of our lives.  And during this serious economic decline, it is steadily worsening.  A growing need for services combined with shrinking resources has created a crisis.

The Real Costs Are Hidden

The direct costs of providing for SC’s children in care can be measured, but those are only the tip of the iceberg.  The real costs — that cannot be measured — are embedded in our educational, health care, judicial and penal systems, as well as in the overall welfare system.  As these costs ripple through our communities, they impact all of our futures. We have to do something — we must address this now.  Find out what Children Come First is doing, and what you can do to help.

Children Come First (CCF) is a 501(C)4 organization supported by individuals, community groups and businesses who care about SC’s abandoned, abused and neglected children, as well as the economic health of our state.  Its primary purpose is to provide a unified voice in advocating for systemic change in SC’s foster care system.

During the 2009 legislative session, CCF pursued legislation critical to shortening the length of time children currently spend in care.   The Responsible Father Registry was passed and signed into law in June 2009.  To view the bill in its entirety, go to www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/bills/3311.htm