But 2.7 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds—nearly 700,000 of their age group—have been in foster care at any given time. Foster care is often not the only result of parental substance abuse problems leading to neglect, abandonment, and/or abuse of children. Youth who are or have been in foster care are at heightened risk for drug abuse and are more likely to need treatment for substance abuse than others their age.8
Thousands of teens who age out of the foster care system each year—or run away before they reach age 18 and are automatically released—are left without ongoing connection to family members or caring adults and often without shelter, employment, or other resources, greatly increasing their risks for substance abuse, homelessness, and other serious problems.