There are approximately 11,700 children and youth under state guardianship in Ontario. Black and Indigenous children are highly represented, with Indigenous children comprising 30 per cent of kids under Ontario guardianship alone.
Each year, around 1,000 youth “age out” of the system. For many, the transition is difficult, creating lifelong adverse outcomes including low educational attainment and income, unstable housing and homelessness, worse physical and mental health and criminalization.