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The government is failing to protect children because it is "too timid", a cross-party group of MPs warned today.
The Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee suggested that children in care are not given enough state support.
It described looked-after children as having "poor" experiences, despite the efforts made by "dedicated" social workers.
In the report, MPs said that luck had too big a role in determining a child's care experience because of inconsistencies within the system.
It blamed inadequate support on housing and healthcare for the some of the failings.
Children in care and those who were formerly looked after were at risk of offending, sexual exploitation and homelessness, it said.
The MPs also urged government to implement more effective therapeutic services for vulnerable young people.
The report stated: "Despite the dedication and perseverance of social workers and carers, the outcomes and experiences of young people who have been looked after remain poor.
"Far from compensating for their often extremely difficult pre-care experiences, certain features of the care system itself in fact make it much harder for young people to succeed; they are moved frequently and often suddenly, miss too much schooling and are left to fend for themselves at too early an age."
And the committee added: "The government's willingness to act as a 'pushy parent' in ensuring that looked-after children have priority access to schools is welcome, but should not be restricted to the sphere of education.
"Health services and housing are just as important, as are adult services when the young person is moving towards independence."
Chairman of the committee Barry Sheerman said that it was "imperative" that the government tackle perceptions that the care system can be "catastrophic" for a child's prospects.
"It must be seen as a positive experience, but this will only happen if the state can better replicate the warm, secure care of good parents for every child in the system," he said.
Sheerman told the BBC that about 60,000 vulnerable children in care at the moment deserve the "very best of treatment".
"When the state takes over as parent, we believe they should get a very good second chance at life," he said. "At the moment, they don't."
"All care options are poor at the moment... We found in the system, no one properly listens to the child's voice."
He said that "any child in care tends to be picked on".
"I don't believe that if you radically change the balance between institutional care and other kinds of care, that would continue," Sheerman added.
Education minister Baroness Morgan of Drefelin welcomed the report, describing it as "very important".
She warned that there was "still so much more to do" on improving childcare services and admitted that the government was starting from a "very low base".
She told the BBC: "I am looking forward to studying it very carefully and making sure that we take forward the sentiments of this report.
"Early intervention has really come to the fore with the development of the government's 'Every child matters' programme.
"In 2007, we launched our 'Care matters' programme, which was about how we apply those principles to the care system.
"But there is so much more to do. We are starting from a very low base because we are talking about some of the most troubled and neglected and often, abused children."
She explained that the government had to work to improve the reputation of the care system.
"But we also need to make sure that the care system adds to our experience of children and improves their outcomes, which is what we are trying to do," she said.
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