We, the undersigned, hereby petition our federal, state and local governments to stop the placement of vulnerable children for commercial profit. Our government regularly places our most vulnerable youth in for- profit facilities designed to make money by warehousing them.  With 430,000 children in foster care and 43,000 children placed through the youth justice system, too many children live under 'care' systems run for profit.  

These children have no lobby. Currently, twenty-eight states allow for-profit contracting of foster care services. Equally concerning, almost every state allows  for-profit companies to provide care and services to youth in the justice system. These children cannot march, don’t vote, and have no money. Once our government removes them from their families, these vulnerable and often traumatized youth are our legal and moral responsibility. 

The record clearly shows frequent systemic abuses by the for-profit foster care industry.  Children deserve to be placed with personal foster parents, through supervised 501(c)(3) or public entities. Foster care and youth justice services should not be run by for-profit companies under dubious contracts with government that benefit stockholders at the expense of children’s best interests. President Biden has determined that adult Federal prisons run for profit are unacceptable. Why do 28 states permit profit-making on the heads of innocent children, and why does the Federal taxpayer fund the majority? Please stop it now.

fixfostercare.org