Economic Impact of Adoption and Foster Care
Sam Biely
In recent years, it has come to many people’s attention that the Foster Care system is flawed, and that adopting children and getting them out of said system is extremely important, yet very difficult to do. But what many aren’t aware of, is how the foster care system affects the economy.
The foster care system helps fuel the economy, along with providing a useful service, and helps continue its growth.
Overall the Foster Care system, along with adoption, cost a lot of money to fund and keep running. Having thousands of growing children and babies that need many accommodations; the costs of which can add up quite quickly. The foster care system cost the government over 9 billion dollars in total expenditures. Funds go toward medical care, food stamps, and child care payments to foster families. Though there are also additional long term costs to foster care, such as costs relating to unemployment payments, homelessness, and even dropping out of school.
In 2006, Foster Care Payments ranged from about 450 dollars to 550 dollars, depending on the age range of the child. This money then goes back in the Gross Domestic Product per capita as a form of consumer spending. Also, the long term expenses are also factored into the GDP as government spending, because most of the costs of long term foster care are parts of the government’s budget for Health and Welfare. And in conclusion, the foster care system is a benefit to the economy. It's expenses contribute to the overall Gross Domestic Product, as well as GDP per capita.
Works Cited
“The Economic Benefits of Foster Care Adoption.” Children's Bureau Express, Nov. 2011, cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewArticles&issueid=130§ionid=2&articleid=3304.
FacebookTwitterYoutubeLinkedIn Adoption Center1735 Walnut St Ste A-441Philadelphia, PA 19103p: (215) 735-9988p: (800) TO-ADOPT e: ac@adopt.org. “The Economy's Impact on Adoption.” The Economy's Impact on Adoption | Adoption Center, 4 Mar. 2009, www.adopt.org/content/economys-impact-adoption.
“Making the Case: Why Prevention Matters.” Child Welfare Information Gateway, www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/developing/economic/.
This is as really informative piece on the foster care system. In theory, according to this argument, the economy would benefit from never having an empty foster care system, and always having children in need of a home, so that there will always be more consumer spending occurring, which is sad because morally, it is better to make sure children have a loving home.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that something so positive like foster care and adoption can also boost the economy. This makes it even more possible for all kids to find a happy home, which is very important. The graph that you included made it really easy to understand the data that you provided and I liked that there was a visual. Overall, great blog!
ReplyDeleteI think that focusing on how much the government is spending on fostercare and orphaned children is very important as it takes quite a big chunk out of our country's budget. And I found it interesting that most of the costs of long term foster care are parts of the government’s budget for Health and Welfare.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to me how adoption costs have lowered in 2006 instead of rising. Wouldn’t make more sense to have the cost change higher from 1998 to 2006 rather than lower due to inflation? I also never knew that foster care would cost so much money for the government to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI thought your topic was really interesting because I didn’t realize how much Foster Care impacted our economy. While I agree that foster care payments probably become a form of consumer spending, I’m curious to know how much that truly impacts America’s GDP. The article also states that roughly 9 billion dollars of the government’s money is spent on Foster Care related expenses. This statistic makes me wonder if the Foster Care system- while necessary- may actually cost the economy more than it contributes to it. Also, as you stated at the beginning of the article, the Foster Care system is flawed, so it’s possible that more government spending might be necessary in order to rectify these issues within the system. Overall, I agree that Foster Care should continue to be heavily funded, but I don’t agree with the idea that the foster parent’s “consumer spending” contribution to the U.S’s GDP outweighs the cost of running this program.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I agree with the importance of getting children out of the system. I thought it was interesting how you stated “The foster care system cost the government over 9 billion dollars in total expenditures.” I found this interesting because of the comparison of hundreds of thousands, billion and trillion. You also listed it depends on the child's age for how much the total is in Foster Care payments. In the end, the graph enhanced your piece by having a visual that made it easier to understand what you were talking about relating to cost.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post because it's a topic that is never brought up on the news, in conversation, etc. I think foster care system is great for the economy but I start to think about what those kids are gonna turn out to be. Will they be a help to the economy/society or will they not help the economy. That's probably the worst way I could've worded that but I hope you get what I mean. It's more of a long term thing to me then the years the foster parents receive funds and pay bills. The second paragraph was super strong for supporting your claim which was great. Another thing that I thought was great was the amount of sources you used, you didn't get all your information from one specific source.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great piece on a very unique topic such as the Foster Care system. I knew a bit about the Foster Care system and how it worked, and how there are also a lot of hardships that come with it. You however, brought to ight the side that never gets talked about and that is the economic/money side of it. I really found it interesting how the foster care system boosts the economy and how it also costs our government so much. I liked how you included the budget of the government expenses that it falls under and gave exact numbers and a graph showing the expenses of such a program. Overall, great piece and great economic information!
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article I had no idea there were any economical effects of child adoption. I did not even think that the Foster care payments could be $450 to $550. It is mind blowing to think that the government has spent $9 billion dollars in food stamps, medical care and payments for families who had adopted. As costly as all this is, it’s for a good cause and no harm can really be done by doing so.
ReplyDeleteI never considered anything about adoption and foster care contributing to GDP. I wonder how much of a stress these costs are on the families, or how much the compensation from the government leads back into GDP. I also wonder how foster care payments had adjusted in recent years and if they have adjusted enough for inflation.
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ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that the foster care system had this much of an impact on the economy. I didn't even know that the government funds it, let alone 9 million dollars. This just goes to show that almost everything affects the economy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about adoption and foster care, I know that the government funds it, but I didn't know how much the government funded it, but it does make sense because paying for children to live is expensive since they are constantly growing. I plan on adopting in the future because I want to help children who need a loving home and I can give that to them.
ReplyDeletePersonally for me, I'm not educated that well on the foster care system. I didn't know how much money was spent on them through government funding and I didn't realize the extent of care they had to provide. I really enjoyed learning about a new topic especially one that influences our economy so much. I wonder what our economy would be like if we didn't have these types of systems put in place. Where would the “extra” money go? And then would all of these children be homeless? The foster care system is a super important factoid to our economy and Sam did a nice job explaining the impact it makes.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read your post because I never thought about foster care from an economic standpoint. I was surprised to read that the foster care system fuels the economy as much as it does. What wasn't as surprising to me was how much money is put into it because of all of the children that they need to provide for. This does, however, bring up a question. How do you think these systems could better separate out their expenses to help make the experience for foster children better. In other words, how do you think the foster system could get rid of their flaws?
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought about how foster care can affect the economy! I'm surprised that it helps boost it as much as it does. I wonder how much it affects the GDP and what would happen if we took foster care and adoption out of the economy?
ReplyDeleteThe topic has an interesting connection to the economy and it is something I never thought about before. Something that I found interesting was how much money is put into the foster care system to take care of all the children.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is extremely interesting because not many people know about the foster care system or its specifics. I certainly didn’t know that it costs the government over 9 billion dollars in total expenditures or that the foster care system positively impacts and contributes to the Gross Domestic Product, as well as the GDP per capita. It’s unfortunate that there are also situations relating to unemployment, homelessness and dropping out of school.
ReplyDeleteYour title grabbed my attention as I'm curious to how the government integrated the foster car system finically. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to arrange the needs for so many growing children, especially because being a foster child will impact your mentality and inner emotions. It can feel like a child's identity is being a foster child, leading to greater struggles with abandonment and trust. While accommodating for their mental health, you must provide the essentials which can be costly. Do you think the government spends enough money on care for these children?
ReplyDelete