For the fourth time, a 12-year-old boy from Nebraska packs up his belongings and prepares to move in with his new adoptive family with hopes that this time, it will be permanent. In Arizona, a 16-year-old girl in foster care lies in bed at night wondering if she’ll ever find an adoptive family before aging out of the foster care system on her 21st birthday, and what her options will be if she doesn’t. A 14-year-old high school freshman in New York under the supervision of child welfare services starts to find more comradery with his local gang affiliates than with his football teammates. These are all tragic, real-life stories unfolding across America right now due to the nation’s overly stressed and struggling foster care system.  

Read Rep. Bacon's OpEd here.