Case Study: Foster Boarding Home Replacement

Raising children is one of the most important responsibilities in any society. Today, working parents have many options, but what about those children who have neither a mother nor father? What about those children who come from broken and abusive homes? In such cases there are often few choices. Parentless children may be placed in orphanages or in foster homes. Ideally, foster care offers children more personalized attention than would normally be available at a public or private situation. However, orphanage care is notoriously uneven. While some children are indeed in loving homes, others find themselves neglected or

The foster care system exists in order to enhance the lives of children whose parents were deceased rather than because of abuse today. Our outlook, principles, and ways of being concern for and protecting abused or neglected children and looking after families has shifted greatly throughout history. In this paper I will discuss and inform the readers on the three main components. The first part will discuss the foundation and growth of the foster care system as time pass. Secondly, describe the contemporary state of the system within the United States, including pertinent statistics. Lastly, considering future guidelines intended for the system, including ways in which the system can progress throughout the time.

When an adolescent comes into for therapy there is really never an easy task of finding out what is going on. Adolescent that come in who are part of the foster care system will add another degree of challenges. Children and adolescents that are put into the foster care system are not there because they choose to be, they are there due to some event in their life putting them there.

Every year in the United States, hundreds of children and adolescents are taken from their parents and primary caregivers and placed in out-of-home care situations due to issues in their homes and family lives which contribute to unsafe living conditions. These children and adolescents often face many health, behavioral, developmental, and psychological issues.

The U.S foster care system is corrupt and the children trapped in it face the worst of it. The goal of foster care is to eventually reunite children with their parents or find the child a safe, loving home. Instead, foster kids face the harsh reality of abuse, mental illness, and temporary homes. The children and ripped from the homes they’ve known their entire lives because their parents struggle financially. The system would rather pay strangers to the child to take care of him/her rather than helping the parents of the child. This case would be called “neglect” when in reality most parents were doing all they could to take care of their children. The children’s new foster parents are paid hundreds of dollars per month. Often times, the money doesn’t go to the child and he/she is left truly neglected. The system is broken because children are taken from their homes for the wrong reasons and put into unsafe environments that will have a traumatic effect on the rest of their lives.

Nationwide, nearly 397,122 children live in foster care. In California, which has the largest foster care population than any other state, the number of foster youth has tripled in the last 20 years (Source: AFCARS Report 2013) due to certain circumstance such as; physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or caretaker inability. Welfare workers turn over at continuing high rates, and many are underpaid, poorly trained, overworked and demoralized. Foster Care system welfare lacks providing services to prepare older youths in foster care in independent living are lacking. Many youths that exited the system discuss their experience such as, being let down, lack of role models, poor training programs, and lack of basic living skills. Foster

As of today, approximately 415,000 children are in the foster care system within the United States of America, and about 22,000 teenagers age out of the system, without any assistance, or any financial support (AFCARS 2015). Without guidance, it is more than likely for a teenager to turn to selling drugs, prostitution, or other criminal activities to provide for their basic necessities. Research has shown that those who leave foster care without any stability, have a higher probability to face prison time, homelessness, and are not able to maintain a financially stable lifestyle when he or she grows out of the system. At the age of seventeen, children are kicked out of their homes, and are forced to survive by his or her own means of survival. The children are not allowed to contact previous foster families, or anyone within the system to help them transition into adulthood. The transition from foster care, to adulthood can be a difficult one, especially for children who have endured different forms of psychological and physical abuse for the majority of their lives. It is important to reach out to children in need, especially those leaving foster care without any assistance. Many of those who age out of foster care are completing their last years in high school, and on top of school, they are forced to find a job, a home, and some sort of transportation. The youth leave the foster care system with a limited work history, if any at all, and a limited education. The little

In some states in the United States, youth age out of foster care at the age of 18, however in states such as Maryland and the District of Columbia youth age out of foster care at the age of 21. While extending foster care until the age of 21 was created to form positive outcomes for emancipated youth, studies have found that difficulty in their transition from foster care to adulthood still remains. As a result youth aging out of foster care are at a higher risk for homelessness during their transition to adulthood. It is estimated that “27% of the homeless population spent time in foster care (Media, 2015)”. For various reasons such as residential instability and economic problems among youth aging out of foster care, youth are contributing

The Challenges In The Life Of A Foster Child What is foster care? Foster care is when a child or teen under the age of 18 is placed into a group home, or a home with a caregiver also known as “foster parent”. Many children are put into the foster system because, their parents neglect them, abuse them, homelessness, or they have familial problems in their household, such as, exposure to criminal activity, alcohol, and/or drugs. But the real question is, what Challenges are faced by teens that are in foster care? Teens that are in foster care face many challenges in life.

Future planning include developing support systems for the youth and their families to use when they transition back to the community. If the child cannot return to his/her family and they are younger than 18 they are placed in a foster care center. The foster care building is located in the Seegers Center. The Seegers Center is in charge of working closely with the child prior to discharge to help facilitate the transition into a new home. When a child is close to turning 18 and stabilized they are placed in a treatment program that is a less restrictive. The less-restrictive environment helps the individual ease his/her transition into the community. They help them look for a job, housing, and learn to cook. Independent living is supposed

With the little amount of money the foster homes are given they can only provide for lower class items to give to the kids and have very little to no money for the children’s education. For example, the foster homes have such a small amount of money they need help from other organizations in order to give back to the children. According to the article, “How to Immediately Fix Foster Care,” they show how kids can receive an education. It says, “The ETV program is a federally funded and state-administered program where a foster child is eligible to receive up to $5,000 in financial assistance per year to help reach their goals,” (Schwandt, 2013). This reveals how broken the foster system is because they give other organizations and important

The numbers of children in foster care continue to increase annually with minimal attempts to intercept the causes of the escalation. Children are generally placed into foster care as a result of parental abuse or neglect; however, there are many racial inconsistencies circulating general foster care involvement. In the year of 2014, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System reported a total of 415,129 children in the foster care system. Depending on their situation, children in the system are in need of some sort of home, whether that be temporary or permanent. When experiencing this type of shift in their lives, many children tend to act out. Foster care in the United States is a

The first primary systemic challenge affecting the family’s access to appropriate services is a lack of communication between care providers. Though housing, child welfare, school, and foster care social workers are providing advice to each set of parents, there seems to be little collaborative communication. The Child and Family Practice Model (CFPM) created by the California Partners for Permanency identifies primary systemic issues in child welfare and foster care service provisions. The four primary systemic issues identified include 1) ineffective and inadequate family engagement in services, 2) lack of family goals and self-efficacy, 3) lack of well-coordinated services in a timely manner, and 4) lack of focus on family strengths

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

FCS discussed Subchapter N which spoke of Foster Home Management and Evaluations for the home. FCS explained that these are the things that are required when visiting monthly and when evaluating the home and children. FM stated that she did not have any questions or concerns at this time but will review them further.