Public Awareness

On September 30, 2011, there were an estimated 400,540 children in foster care.(Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System). A child can be removed from the home and placed in foster care for a variety of reasons including abuse or neglect, parent-child conflict, and the presence of serious physical or behavioral problems in the child that cannot be addressed in the home.

Many youth who are identified (by themselves or by others) as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) are routinely subjected to name-calling, bullying, and other forms of harassment. And even LGBTQ allies may be victimized. Underlying these behaviors can be discrimination and hate—which sometimes leads to violence.

April is the month of the Military Child. This special celebration is a legacy of former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and was established to underscore the important role children play in the Armed Forces community. According to Military K-12 Partners, today there are more than 1.2 million military children, and since 2001 approximately 2 million children have experienced deployment of a parent.

According to the Brain Injury Association of America, each year an estimated 1.7 million children and adults in the United States sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and another 795,000 individuals sustain an acquired brain injury (ABI) from nontraumatic causes. TBIs can affect the functionality of the brain—affecting thinking, reasoning, and memory.