Entering foster care

Nick News presents "Foster Care: A Reality Check"

From Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: “Foster Care: A Reality Check,” premieres Sunday, October 24th, at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time. “We don’t have parents that were able to take care of us,” Starr says. “That’s not our fault.” That’s the exact definition of a foster kid – from a foster kid. Foster care is when another grownup or family takes you in, because your parents can’t provide for you properly. The number of foster kids in the United States is estimated at nearly 500,000. For many of them, a foster family is an oasis of stability and sanity in a world where they’re not in control. But for others, foster care is filled with loneliness and longing for home. “My first birthday in the foster home, I had turned 13,” says Freddie, a former foster kid from New York City. “My school bus matron brought me a cake and candles. And I took it home and lit the candles by myself. And I sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to myself. And that was the worst birthday I’ve had.”

On Sunday, October 24th, “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee” will take a hard look at foster care – through the eyes of foster kids themselves. How did they wind up in foster care? How do they cope with moving from home to home? And what happens when they’re no longer kids? Those are all questions foster kids face every day. You’ll meet Isaiah and Solomon, twin brothers from upstate New York. “One thing (my mother) said that really bothered me was, um, she never meant to have me,” Isaiah says. You’ll hear from Starr and her sister Connie from New Mexico – two foster kids who are trying to help kids even younger than they are.

“My goal is to succeed in life,” Connie says. “Life is hard,” says Starr. “But you can always make it through.” There’s Melody from Nebraska. “We went into foster care because we got kicked out of our apartment,” she says. And there’s 14-year-old Rashad from Florida. He still hopes someone will adopt him, so he’ll no longer need foster care. “I’ve been in about 21 homes,” he says. Freddie, Starr and Connie. Isaiah and Solomon, Melody and Rashad. You’ll hear all of their stories on the next edition of “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee.” “Foster Care: A Reality Check,” premieres Sunday, October 24th, at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time. If you live in another time zone, check your local cable listings for the time it’ll be shown in your area. Watch it with your parents.