Society
Foster Care System Hiding 170,000 Children from Official Records Since 2018
Shawn Ryan Show
#314 Jen Lilley - The Dark Truth About the American Foster Care System
"In 2018, there were 675 children who had any sort of interaction with foster care. 437,000 were in foster care. In 2024, there's only 505,000 being served by foster care. Where did all these kids go? They go into what's called hidden foster care. There's no court case that's ever opened. There's no record, which means there's no social worker checking up on their welfare."
Lilly revealed that between 100,000 and 300,000 children are in 'hidden foster care'—removed from homes but never officially entered into the system. She attributed this to the 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act creating incentives to move crisis cases off the books while appearing to solve foster care problems.
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Shawn Ryan Show