Netanyahu Outlines Ceasefire Deal With Hezbollah, But There's a Catch
Anti-Woke Activists Respond to Walmart's 'Stunning Reversal'
Are Sanctuary City Mayors Going to Jail? Tom Homan Weighs in
Slow Clap: Arizona Finally Finishes Counting Votes
Our Biggest Black Friday Sale Ever – 74% Off VIP Membership
DNC Staffers Getting Desperate After Kamala Hung Them Out to Dry
Did Scott Jennings Just Present His Greatest Revelation Yet to CNN?
Oh, So Now Democrats Want to Use the Filibuster
The Wins Keep Coming: Appeals Court Agrees to End Trump's Classified Documents Case
Here's How Canada and Mexico Reacted to Trump's Announcement on Tariffs
There's Been Another Poll Released on the 2028 Democratic Field
Lara Trump Launched an American-Made Activewear Line
And This Is Why the Public Doesn't Trust the DOJ
Once More, Louder, for the People in the Back: Leftist Gay Activists' Trump...
Newsom Says California Will Intervene If Trump Reverses This Biden-Era Policy
OPINION

Make a Difference for Foster Children

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

I am an adopted son. I am a very lucky adopted son. And as an adopted son I want all adoptees like me to have the same wonderful adoptive parents I was lucky enough to have.

Advertisement

My biological mother was an unmarried young woman from Ohio who had an affair with a married man. It was 1945 -- my biological father was in the Army and was shipped off to France to fight in the war while my mother went to California to give birth to me.

My mother made the painful decision to put me up for adoption. Thankfully, I was adopted by none other than the actor Ronald Reagan and his then-wife Jane Wyman. No youngster ever had more loving parents, despite their divorce.

Unlike me, however, many never find a loving permanent home. They grow up in a group home, or are shuffled from foster home to foster home. Tragically the majority of children who "age out" of foster care are not equipped to live as productive adults. Statistics show that they are less likely to graduate from high school. They are less likely to be employed and, even when they are employed, are more likely to have jobs that do not pay a living wage.

Moreover, they are more likely to experience violence, homelessness and mental illness. And they are more likely to fall victim to substance abuse and to be incarcerated. Females are more likely to have unwanted pregnancies. Our nation's foster children deserve better. They deserve the chance to be properly prepared for adulthood.

Advertisement

Jimmy Wayne -- country music singer, child advocate and my friend -- brought to my attention two bills now before the Tennessee Legislature -- HB 2337 in the House and SB 2199 in the Senate, which will allow youth in Tennessee to stay in foster care until the age of 21. As a national advocate for children, I strongly support this legislation and encourage all members of the Tennessee General Assembly to vote in support of it.

Children are often the real victims of divorce when parents, once apparently devoted to each other, suddenly become enemy camps with fathers on one side and mothers on the other. Tragically the children are sometimes forced to take sides in the marital combat, estranging themselves from one of their parents, perhaps forever.

In such an atmosphere, what should have been a loving home can be transformed into a field of strife. Children deserve better. Even foster children in good situations need more time to get their lives on track.

Join me in supporting an effort that will help make a difference.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos