Blog Post 5: Abuse Within The Foster Care System

Many children prefer to live with their parents, so they always think the foster care system is the bad guy. Living with strangers is bad enough for them but to add on some foster homes are abusive. Foster Care goes all the way back to the Old Testament, which the churches require widows to care for orphaned children (“Care” 1). It would be a miracle that someone would treat the children like their own. Many foster homes are abusive just like the one Ashley had. Year after year, the increase of foster families is due to drugs, abuse, economy, financial, and psychological problems (“Care” 1). In this society, there are many problems that lead children to have the feeling of worthlessness. It is really sad how many children are in families of irresponsible parents. Child abuse occurs when a parent or caretaker physically, emotionally, or sexually mistreats or neglects a child resulting in the physical, emotional, sexual harm, exploitation, or imminent risk (“Care” 1). It is disgusting how people would do this stuff to kids. These people have no heart and should be punished. Not everyone gets punished, but when the time comes, they will get what they deserve. Ashley’s book shows how her difficulties in foster homes were troubling. Many professional readers enjoy reading about her hard times.

“About two-thirds of children admitted to public care have experienced abuse and neglect, and many have potentially been exposed to domestic violence, parental mental illness and substance abuse” (Dregan and Gulliford). These children are being placed into foster care so that they can get away from home abuse, not so they can move closer towards it. The foster children’s varied outcomes of what their adult lives are is because of the different experiences they grew up with in their foster homes. The one-third of those other foster children usually has a better outcome in adult life than the other two-thirds, which is a big problem considering the high percentage of children being abused in their foster homes. Although, the foster care

The number of children in the foster care system continues to increase. While the foster care system is essential in helping abused, abandoned, and neglected children, many children remain in foster care for long periods of time when family reunification or adoption is planned. Court delays can often extend the time between when children enter the foster care system and when they are placed into permanent homes. Significant differences exist in the quality of care and outcomes for children depending on their race and ethnicity. The percentage of children of color in the foster care system is larger than the percentage of children of color among the general U.S. population. However, the occurrence of child abuse and neglect is at about the same rate in all racial/ethnic groups.

The Foster Care System with the kids who are in it is a massive social issue that America is facing today. There are more than 640,000 foster children in the United States every year. There are 23,000 foster children living in group homes at one time. There are 32,000 who live in institutions, and twenty-seven states do not meet federal abuse and neglect standards. (Attention) Personally, I am a foster sister, because my family currently fosters. Therefore, we see the issues and needs of fostering, daily. (Rapport and Credibility) This speech will discuss the importance of the nature of foster care, the catastrophic problems of foster care, and the proposed solution for the foster care system in America. (Preview)

In today’s society Fostering Children has become a form of employment, and too many Foster Parents consider fostering to be nothing more than just a job. Agencies are considering the hiring process as an urgency to match staff with cliental; considering families as just another case to fill their homes and keep their agencies up and running instead of taking time to match families according to the needs of the children and qualifications of the foster parents.

Many children encounter difficulties which could include abuse. Neglect, and physical and sexual abuse just to name a few, are types of abuse that unfortunately cause children to be taken from the home and placed into foster care. Removing them from the home can be devastating to children involved, but placing them into foster care help eliminate the possibility continued abuse.

The author, Nina Biehal, tells of the treatment in foster care and the need for correction in her article, "Maltreatment in Foster Care: A review of the evidence." The author gives many facts about how the government needs to change the level of care provided for the children. This article is more of a constant reminder of how much still needs to change and the level of care offered to children of abuse today. Unlike the article by authors Kristen Turney and Christopher Wilderman, which bases their article on the number of children in foster care receiving mental health care, Biehal gives evidence to support the problems that result from being in foster care. My essay can use this article to paint a picture of the number of children in detrimental conditions and how foster care developed problems with their system to support my argument.

Each year 542,000 children nationwide live temporarily with foster parents, while their own parents struggle to overcome an addiction to alcohol, drugs, illness, financial hardship or other difficulties (Mennen, Brensilver, & Trickett, 2010.) The maltreatment they experienced at home, the shock of being separated from their birth parents, and the uncertainty they face as they enter the foster care system leave many children feeling abandoned or lost. Children have many needs, but while in foster care these needs are not always met. A supportive family environment is created for those children whose parents are not able to take the

Unfortunately, there will always be kids who get abused and neglected, and there will always be people who live in poverty, but this issue can be improved. First, we need more educational training for foster parents, as well as educating the public about the foster care system. There needs to be more funding for foster care so that children have an opportunity to have an education, and foster parents have the right resources for their foster children. That is where this charity comes in, The Alliance for Children’s Rights.

No two children in foster care have the same background. The youths can vary by the age when placed into care, the number of times they were put into care, the quality of the home and family they lived with, and the youths own emotional outlooks (Zlotnick 539). They can develop abandonment issues due to being separated from their biological parents, and stunted emotional growth due to the trauma that foster care puts on a young child. Children need to be raised in a stable and safe environment, and while plenty of foster care parents are loving and nurturing to the child, they may still be affected by being raised by multiple families in a negative way. Every year, over 1 million children experience maltreatment, and about half of these children enter foster care (Greeson et al. 92). Those who enter foster care have usually encountered multiple traumatic events, from either their parents or another caregiver in their lives.

More than two-hundred and fifty thousand children enter the foster care system each year, making it extremely difficult to find the right caregiver for each child. There are so may effects on the child that last their entire lifetime, making it difficult for them to trust others. Not being able to trust their peers, they often find it hard to make friends and long-term relationships last. Fortunately, there are many results that can improve everyone’s position in placing the child. Foster care agencies repeatedly create destructive situations due to the selected caregiver, as well as the plethora of glitches that are created. Due to the unacceptable and inappropriate selection of foster parents, the child frequently experiences difficulties and disadvantages later on. Most children are placed into foster care because of mistreatment and experience the same treatment in their foster homes. Unfortunately, a lot of times the foster parent will take their anger out on their foster child, making a wide array of short-term and long-term complications for the child.

Helping these vulnerable children access the services, interaction, and the stability needed for them to grow-up to being successful members of society can be provided with foster placement. If the process is well planned and if the foster parents are given adequate support, the foster care system can be a valuable resource for abused and neglected children (Crosson-Tower, 2014, p. 321).

Everywhere across the world, more and more children are being placed into foster care or a welfare type system. Foster care can benefit children or harm them; the effects of foster care differ for every individual. These types of systems often have a major effect on young children’s physiological state. Children entering in foster care are often malnourished and have untreated health problems. A high percentage of children who are placed in these types of systems have mental health, physical health, and/or developmental issue which often originates while the individuals are still in the custody of the biological parents. Children in foster care should be provided with a healthy and nurturing environment which often provides positive long term results. The age of children in a foster care varies across the world, but it is often seen that majority of these children are young (George para. 1). There are more young children in the system because younger children require more adequate care than older children that are already in the system. Placing these children in welfare systems is supposed to be a healing process for them. Although this is supposed to be a healing process, statistics say these children have a negative experience while being in these systems, but this is not always the case. A number of children in foster care fall sucker to continuous neglect and recurrent abuse with the lack of nurturing and an unstable environment. These same children often have unmet

Unfortunately, this is the cold, sad reality of many children and teens who have been thrown into the system like a piece of meat for the wolves to devour. I have decided to write about the issues of foster care and the abuse children and teens face while moving through this broken system. Over the past years, I have developed a passion to intercede on behalf of our youth. I want to help them navigate through a life filled with turmoil and discord. I chose this topic because I want to make a difference in the lives of these mistreated, misunderstood, and misguided children and teens. One might ask, “How can we fix such a system with these particular problems?” Although I may not have the “right” answer to that question, I do believe there is a way to repair the massive leak that has caused a system meant to serve and protect our youth to

The study consisted of 12 parents who foster children ages 2-8 years old. The high levels of conduct problems among children in the foster care system and the added cost to families, society and services, there is a pressing need to support foster parents. Providing foster care to children with increased emotional, behavioral, and medical needs requires not only time, but patience in dealing with the child’s demands. Foster parents often voice they are unprepared to meet demand of children with increased behavioral and emotional needs and adolescents in their care. This situation can result in placement disruption, which further strains foster care resources and has negative impacts on foster children and youth. The incidence of conduct disorder