A new national campaign is focusing attention on teens in foster care. Advocates are hoping the new Parents Adopted campaign will help to increase the number of teens adopted. According to recent data, teens make up 22% of children and youth in foster care, but only account for 12% of those adopted. Kamilah Bunn is the CEO of the National Adoption Association. She says the campaign is made possible through work with the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Experts say almost 20,000 young people age out of foster care without any family support each year. Susie Weller is Executive Director of Children First, which is home of the Athens-Clarke Oconee CASA program. Her organization serves the hundreds of local children in foster care.
According to the Georgia Department of Human Services, there are over 11,000 children in foster care in the state.
