Beware of the enemy of the
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WE LOVE ALL CHILDREN
TRUTH
Shocking Statistics of Abuse and Trauma
Separation and Permanency Failures
• Hundreds of thousands of children torn from families: In FY2023 there were 343,077 children in U.S. foster care . Yet only ~44% of the 184,095 youth who exited that year were reunited with parents . This means 56% never returned home (only 27% were adopted, 10% to guardianship) . Each year thousands “age out” at 18 without a permanent family – in FY2023 that number was 15,590 youth .
• Long waits and stalled legal ties: Over 36,400 children were legally free for adoption in 2023 yet still waiting for a family . Disturbingly, 52% of those with an adoption plan had not even had parental rights terminated , often keeping birth families in limbo. In total, more than 77,000 children are currently awaiting a permanent family – a heartbreaking backlog of childhoods in limbo.
Missing Native and Indigenous Children
• Disproportionate disappearance from care: Indigenous children are vastly overrepresented in the missing-child crisis. 68% of missing Native American children were last seen in foster care or group homes . According to NCMEC data, a staggering 80% of missing Native kids (2012–2021) had vanished from foster or group care settings – far above the 73% rate for all missing children .
• Thousands of cases reported: From 2009–2018, over 1,900 cases of missing Native/Indigenous children were reported to authorities . Tribes and advocates call this an epidemic: Native children are disappearing into foster care. (By contrast, American Indian/Alaska Native kids are only ~1% of U.S. children but 2% of those in care , underscoring their vulnerability.)
Racial Disparities in Child Removal
• Black children 2.5× more likely to enter care: Black youth are dramatically overrepresented in the system. They make up 22% of children in foster care but only 14% of all U.S. kids – and are 2.5 times more likely than white children to be placed in foster care . By age 18, over 50% of Black children have had a CPS investigation , and Black children are more likely to be removed (15% higher) once investigated .
• Native children overrepresented: American Indian/Alaska Native children account for 2% of kids in foster care vs ~1% of the population . This double representation, combined with the missing-children crisis above, highlights severe bias. (In one state, Native kids were 18× more likely than whites to be removed from family .)
• Systemic racism worsens outcomes: Once in care, children of color fare worse. Black and Native youth are less likely to reunify and often stay longer in foster care than white peers . Shockingly, any child with 5 or more placements has a 90% chance of later incarceration – a “foster-to-prison” pipeline that disproportionately harms Black and Brown youth.
Abuse, Trauma, and Mortality in Foster Youth
• Trauma is near-universal: An estimated 90% of children in foster care have suffered at least one traumatic event (abuse, neglect, violence, etc.). Abuse in care is alarmingly common – up to 40% report being abused while in foster homes or group care . These are children meant to be protected, yet so many endure more harm in the system.
• PTSD and mental illness: About 1 in 4 foster youth (25%) suffer clinical PTSD . Former foster children are twice as likely as U.S. war veterans to have PTSD . More than half of alumni report other serious mental health issues (depression, anxiety, etc.) .
• Educational and health impacts: 65% of foster children change schools seven or more times (elementary through high school) , disrupting any stability. Only 3% of foster care alumni ever earn a college degree . Foster youth also have far worse health: they are 42% more likely to die than their peers , and far more likely to suffer chronic health problems, substance abuse, or suicide.
• Vulnerability to exploitation: Youth in foster care face elevated risks of human trafficking, sexual abuse, and chronic mental illness compared to other children . They are also disproportionately prescribed psychotropic medications and suffer behavioral issues – a cycle of damage few outside the system hear about.
Failures of Reunification and Permanency
• Reunification fails half the time: Federal data show only about 44–49% of foster children are ever reunited with their parents . In other words, more children end up lost to their families than regain them. The rest are adopted (27%), go to relatives (10%), or simply age out.
• Lengthy time in limbo: Over one-third of exits in 2023 had lingered 2+ years in care (67,746 children); more than 37,000 stayed 3+ years . These long stays violate federal guidelines and inflict prolonged trauma – childhoods on hold.
• Permanency delays: Even adoption is slow: only 15% of foster children are adopted each year , and over half of those planned adoptions stall because parental rights aren’t yet terminated . Meanwhile, 36,411 children legally free for adoption were still waiting for families in FY2023 .
Additional Alarming Facts
• School success is rare: Less than half of foster students graduate high school on time, and barely 3% complete college , trapping many in poverty.
• Systemic neglect: Foster youth routinely report that basic needs (food, medical care, emotional support) are inconsistently met. Many lack therapy or trauma care despite obvious need.
• Psychotropics overuse: Children in care are far more likely than others to be put on powerful psychiatric drugs , often without family oversight.
• Widespread grief: The vast majority of foster kids know they were removed “for no good reason” (poverty or parent illness) and feel abandoned. Even official reviews admit removals often hinge on alleged neglect tied to poverty .
Sources: Official data and research paint a grim picture . These facts – tens of thousands of children ripped from loving homes, enduring abuse in care, and often never returning – underscore how CPS and foster systems can inflict deep, lasting harm. Each statistic above is documented by reputable studies or federal reports.
.LETS CHANGE THE WORLD.
Built From the Wreckage.
Our Mission
To reunite families, empower survivors, and reform the system that tears them apart.
We believe no child should grow up thinking they were unwanted. We believe no family should be erased by silence, lies, or bureaucracy.
And we believe healing must start with truth.
Armored Homes exists to:
• Support system-impacted youth with mentorship and Construction training Musical Programs Writing Programs Art Programs Sports Programs Medical Training TEACH WORLD HISTORY WHATEVER THE YOUTH ARE INTERESTED IN WE WILL SUPPORT THEM
• Provide reunification support to families separated by State Services
• Advocate for bold, nationwide child welfare reform
• Create safe, hands-on centers where survivors can rebuild themselves and their futures
We’re not anti-adoption. We’re pro-family, pro-truth, and pro-healing.
This is for the kids who never made it home.
This is for the families still waiting to be heard.
Honest Reform
Honest Reform: What Needs to Change
The system didn’t just fail me—it fails thousands of families every year. We need real laws that protect kids, support parents Here’s what must change
1. National Oversight for Family Separation
CPS agencies operate with little to no federal oversight. There needs to be a national review process for wrongful removals—and consequences for agencies that ignore evidence or block family contact.
2. Legal Access to Biological Family
Adoptive parents should not have unchecked power to erase family history. There must be enforceable rights for adopted children and biological families to access communication and records, unless proven unsafe.
3. Reunification Over Removal
Too many children age out of foster care without ever going home. Laws need to prioritize family preservation and reunification—not just placement into unfamiliar homes.
4. Protection for Whistleblowers
Survivors who speak out about system abuse face retaliation or censorship. We need laws that protect parents, youth, and former foster children who tell the truth.
5. Poverty Isn’t Neglect
Most removals happen under the term “neglect,” but what they really mean is poverty. No child should be taken because their family is struggling financially. The law should require support before separation.
About Me
By Christopher Veltkamp | Founder of Armored Homes
I was born in Bozeman, Montana on September 30, 1995. My roots came from the East Coast—Vermont, mostly. My mother, Marcy, was a young rocker from a musical crowd, and my grandmother, Bev Bowman, loved the road. She told my mom Bozeman was a peaceful place to raise a child, so my mom left the city behind and came west.But peace didn’t last long.After a heated argument between my mom and grandmother, Bev made a call to Child and Family Services out of anger—never realizing what it would set in motion. The state began monitoring my mother closely. And when she failed a drug test after a night out, I was taken.That single choice—made in a moment of family conflict—changed the entire course of my life. The Adoption That Erased Everything
I was placed with the Veltkamps, a foster family in Montana. By all early accounts, I was a bright and gifted baby—walking and running by eight months old, already communicating like a toddler twice my age. The Veltkamps took notice. They decided I was going to be theirs
What followed were years of manipulation. They ran investigations on my mother. They isolated me from her. And they lied to me—over and over again. I was told my mom never cared, never called, never tried to see me.
But that was a lie.
I remember the adoption hearing. I asked where my mom was. They told me she didn’t want to come. I cried that day. I was just a small child—but I knew something wasn’t right.
They kept bringing foster kids through the house, and I asked why they came and went, but I stayed. I remember a boy named Ray who I loved like a real brother—until one day he was just… gone. Then came Isaac—my cousin by blood—who was taken too. They adopted him as well.
But from that day on, Isaac was treated like a servant. He was bullied, punished, and assigned endless chores while I got to play sports. One day, in a fit of opiate-fueled rage, my adoptive mother chased Isaac with a knife. My adoptive father had to restrain her as we locked ourselves in a bedroom for days. It was never spoken of again.
Spiraling Through the System By middle school, I suffered a devastating knee injury that ended my dreams of going pro in football. I started smoking weed to cope with the pain and sadness. My adoptive parents found out and treated me like I was a criminal.
They sent me to Rimrock, a youth drug treatment facility in Billings. I was the youngest kid there by two years and immediately pulled into a world I wasn’t ready for—one of theft, addiction, and survival. I learned how to hustle. I learned how to hide. I learned how to act like someone twice my age just to survive.
When I returned home, I relapsed almost immediately. My mom called the police on me for pot. I got my first charge. I was kicked out of football. I started dealing. I had no food at school, no lunch money, no support.
Eventually, after a physical fight in my home and a violent arrest, I was thrown into Galen—a juvenile facility that felt more like a prison. Later, I was sent to NSI in Wyoming, a boy’s home that was later shut down for child abuse.
I spent my 17th birthday in that place.
Out, But Not Free
When I got out, I tried to live like a normal kid. I got a girlfriend. But I also got involved in crime—stealing weed plants, dealing, running the streets. I ended up in Helena and was introduced to hard drugs. That’s when everything hit rock bottom.
After a year of living in the darkest parts of Montana’s underworld, I finally called home. I begged for help
They took me in. I did a short jail stint. But I was ready for change.
Turning Point: Framing, Fatherhood, and the Fight Ahead
At 18, I found framing. I started working construction and quickly realized I had a gift for it. On the job, I met Carmelita, the woman who would become the mother of my children. She already had a young daughter, and I raised her like she was my own.
Then we had our son, Marcus.
I worked harder than I ever had in my life. I wanted to be the boss—not to control others, but to finally create security for my family. I used the rage and pain from my childhood as fuel. I wanted to be everything I never had.
Then came the day CPS returned.
History Repeats, But I Fought Back
After an argument and some false accusations, CPS entered our home claiming weed was accessible to Marcus. They took our children—Marcus and Estrella.
I begged them to let my parents watch them.
Instead, CPS placed my children with my adoptive parents—the same ones who raised me in abuse.
I was given just one visit per week for 18 months. I fought with everything I had in court, and I got them back.
But what I discovered after that broke me again.
What Estrella Told Her Mother
In 2022, Estrella told her biological mom that she had been violated while in my adoptive family’s care. It shattered everything.I confronted them. I asked to speak to Sam, the boy I was always uneasy around—the one who never looked me in the eye. I was denied. I was threatened. And when I mentioned legal action, I was told my mother had connections and would use them against me.
That was the last straw.
I cut ties with everyone—my adoptive family, my past, my silence.
And I started building the only thing that could protect kids like me
Armored Homes . It’s the mission I was born for.
We exist to:
• Reunite families separated by abuse and lies
• Support youth lost in systems that forget them
• Teach real skills, trades, and truth
• Restore hope to kids like me—and stop this cycle forever
This is about family, dignity, justice, and truth.
WERE MAKING REAL CHANGES FOR THE FUTURE FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF THIS COUNTRY
IMAGINE A NATION OF PEOPLE THAT STAND FOR TRUTH AND TELLING THE TRUTH IMAGINE IF THE LOWER CLASS DIDNT HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR…….. THAT THERE KIDS WILL BE TAKEN BECAUSE OF MONEY …..MONEY …MONEY …..MONEY THATS ALL PEOPLE PAY ATENTION TOO AND WHAT EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT 24/7 ITS SHOCKING THAT NOBODY IN POWER OR WITH REAL MONEY HASNT PUT 2-2 together AND DONE REAL CHANGE ITS BEEN THE SAME SINCE 1995 FROM WHAT I CAN SEE NOBODY GIVES A DAMN ABOUT OUTSIDE ISSUES ALMOST ALL ARE IRRELEVANT …….TO WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING HERE ………..NOBODY WILL EVER SEE ANY CHANGES BUT THIS …THIS HITS HOME….IT HITS HOME IN EVERY COUNTY……… IN EVERY CITY …………AND IN EVERY STATE IN AMERICA …………..AND IT HAS TO END . OR THIS COUNTRY WILL KEEP NOT TRUSTING THE GOVERNMENT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WILL BE FORCED INTO POVERTY FROM LACK OF WORK CRIME RATES WILL RISE RISE AND RISE
BUT IMAGINE THIS……. A GOVERNMENT THAT ANYBODY CAN TALK TO …..ANYBODY CAN COME UP TO AN OFFICER AND NOT BE AFFRAID THAT THEY MIGHT HARM THERE FAMILY IF THEY ASK FOR HELP WERE IN THIS TOGETHER WE NEED TO UNITE AND THIS IS THE CASE
