Special Series
Hidden Foster Care
The federal government reports there are roughly 425,000 children across the United States living in foster care. The real number appears to be much, much higher — a little known shadow system known as hidden foster care.
Hidden foster care cases do not require evidence presented to a judge that a child is being abused or neglected, warranting their removal from home. Under these informal arrangements, there are no lawyers to advise parents of their rights, and low-income caregivers who receive the children are denied access to the financial support, health care and therapeutic services provided to foster parents.
In an ongoing series that includes investigative stories from across the country, The Imprint reveals the breadth and depth of hidden foster care — the separation of hundreds of thousands of children from their parents by child welfare agencies, outside of the watchful eye of the courts.
Lead illustration by Christine Ongjoco.
