Charlotte Newcombe Scholarship Application (Autobiographical Description)

Other health problems arise when the trauma from past experiences such as abuse or violence in the home cause long term effects in the children. The needs of children in foster care are multifaceted and the problems are exacerbated when the resources in the community are scarce and when the service system is fragmented (Halfon, Berkowitz, & Klee, 1993). Due to the complexity of their problems and the degree of vulnerability, a well-trained and

Foster care is a multifaceted service. It serves children who have experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of their birthparents and families, and their foster parents. Children in foster care may live with unrelated foster parents, with relatives, with families who plan to adopt them, or in group homes or residential treatment centers. Foster care was designed to intervene on behalf of the children during their time of crisis, with hope of reuniting the children with their families in a safe, stable and loving environment. Some children remain in foster care for extended periods of time. Many “age out” and go on to live on their own. This research looks

In conclusion, Lee explores a challenging topic in her article, revealing an area in which America is truly failing her neediest children. The article impacted me most because I want to work in the foster care system, helping children and trying to keep them from falling through the cracks, like many of the children in New York City’s foster care

Though I never entered foster care as a child and therefore, did not consider this topic directly related to my childhood; I see things differently now. The largest common denominator for the existence of foster care and the primary reason why children get placed is extreme poverty. Although I have gone hungry myself here and there in my life, and I also have encountered financial hardship throughout, it appears as really nothing compares to the histories of these families. The traumas they have endured living through despair and darkness of these circumstances is not easy to put into words. My research took me to different genders, different cultures, and different extremes of personal history. It was really heartbreaking to find out these facts via individual memoirs because it felt like they all sat in the middle of my room, up close and personal. What I do know now without a doubt is that I can clearly relate to the raw emotions which back up any human trauma out there. Any of these emotions are what connects humans all over the world; it gives people the key to relating to one another, especially in the space of suffering, as it will demonstrate through the call for and usage of foster care.

Twenty-one year old Claudia Felder lives in Chino, California in a lovely home, with three sweet dogs, and most importantly, a family. One would never think that this well off young lady was once living a life inside foster care. She entered the system when she was just three years old, when most preschoolers were busy having play dates and learning to color within the lines. Claudia’s earliest memories instead were of her mom being beaten in a motel room. After that experience, Felder entered the foster system and stayed there for the next ten years. With not enough foster families in the system, she was bounced around wherever a bed was available. Her lack of a consistent foster

In the journal article, “Foster Care Youth Share Stories of Trauma Before, During, and After Placement: Youth Voices for Building Trauma-Informed Systems of Care”, they discussed people’s stories about the trauma in their life before, during, and after foster care placement. 19% of current foster care youth show clinically significant posttraumatic stress symptoms. (Kolko et al., 2010) Complex trauma includes youth exposure to multiple kinds of family trauma, such as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as neglect and domestic violence. Over 2,000 children and youth who lived in foster care, over 70% met the criteria for complex trauma. One third of foster alumni reports some maltreatment during foster care. Trauma scores are the highest for young

Foster care is a program that is beautiful and lifesaving. The government has worked hard to make it an opportunity for children to access a better life and a brighter future. However, it is also a program riddled with flaws and injustices of many kind. Many have been denied a support system once they graduate out of foster care. Some entered foster care after suffering from sexual abuse, yet had dismissed court cases because they did not have enough physical evidence to properly accuse their abuser. Another major problem riddling the foster care system is the lack of mental health care for children entering the system that have been through intense amounts of trauma. This issue is very prominent, yet it receives little recognition from the

This inability to cope with their child’s intellectual or developmental disability often leads to improper care, and in extreme cases, abuse. Aside from the abovementioned causes, a small percentage of placement is due to particular environmental factors such as financial need, inadequate housing, or chronic unemployment, but poverty frequently contributes to the crises that require children to be placed in foster care (McDonald). While the overall goal is to reunite these children back with their families, sometimes that option isn’t feasible and while some children are fortunate enough to gain kinship care, others aren’t as fortunate. “Foster care includes a wide variety of placement options including emergency shelters, diagnostic centers, foster boarding homes, kinship foster homes, agency-operated boarding homes, group homes, group residences, child care institutions and residential treatment centers” (FC & EC). With so many options for placement that a child can be exposed to, it provides various dimensions that can impact child development, especially with those with past trauma history. The type of residence a child is placed in, whether it’s kin or non-kin, how many children are already in the residence, the type of staff and the support services provided all play a crucial role in their developing growth and overall success in the system.

Just over a year ago I was homeless, pregnant, and sleeping in a tent on the grassy median next to the beach in Waikiki. Twelve years of hard drinking, two years of shooting meth, a failed marriage, abusive relationships, and losing custody of my oldest child brought me to this self-centered existence. I was battling depression and struggling to stay clean and sober. I did not see a future for me and feared I would lose my youngest child to CPS. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to get help. I reached out and on December 2, 2013 I entered the Salvation Army Family Treatment Services (SAFTS), a residential drug treatment facility in Kaimuki. My journey to recovery had begun.

UTSA Social Work Assistant Professor Dr. Alfred G. Pérez’s research is distinct. As a youth who aged out of foster care, and a past child welfare practitioner, Perez’s research is influenced by his own professional and lived experience.

As I read through the final chapters of Beam’s book, I felt both hopeful and disheartened. I feel that the original premise or goal of the child welfare system is to ensure that children have a family. A family that is capable of appropriately caring for a child and providing them with unconditional love. Pat O’ Brien and Chester Jackson’s program, You Gotta Believe! resonates with this goal. There homeless prevention program addresses a principle issue of foster care that the system has not properly addressed, so it seems. According to Pat, an estimated 50 percent of the current homeless population consists of individuals that were once in care. Pat and Jackson saw a need to address the damaging aspects of growing up in care, by implementing

Diehl, Howse, &Trivette (2011) describe such traumas as child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and the death of loved ones as traumatic events. The general youth population will experience one event; but youth in foster care generally will have exposure to two or more types of trauma. Youth also lack a sense of stability due to 85.6% of foster care clients experiencing two placements or

My name is Gertrude but most people call me Gertie. I am originally from Ghana, West Africa. Both my parents are also from Ghana. I spent quite some time in Africa. I am a very proud African. Almost eighteen years ago, I came into a world of love and laughter. I was the first child, and the primary focus of my entire nuclear family. I grew up with opportunities for learning spiritual growth in the Christian world, secure in thought and knowing that I was free from fear, loved and confident that my world was very perfect. I am now a senior in high school. Everyone can agree that I am a good student and that I like to keep my grades consistent. My favorite subjects are math and science. English is not really my thing mainly because I hate writing. I hope to possibly enter a four year college because my goal is to study these subjects in the near future and to become a successful physical therapist or a heart surgeon.

But social services did. In and out of foster homes, you were dumped from one family to another. No one could challenge your brilliant mind, or cure the turmoil in your heart, or tame your anger. Left to inherit your father’s instability, you hit a low point, and for a child, it made it difficult for you to develop a healthy attachment. When all seemed lost, a loving aunt adopted you. It was her love and understanding that kept you from drowning. Damaged, however, no amount of time and love could heal, a bitterness grew inside of you. It festered, twisted and knotted your anger, only to grow stronger when the bullying started. To counter against your harsh reality, to buffer the temper you hid behind a meek persona, a new identity was created.

I was born July 6th 2001 to my mother; Arlishia Cornist and father, Rickey Smith- Hunter in Dallas, Texas. I was given the name Patience because at the time my mom was going through a time where she needed to learn how to patient. Even though I was fine at birth, the doctors had to keep me there for an extra day for tests since I had the sickle cell trait. As a child I was very spoiled until later that next year on September 10th 2002 my baby brother Rico Hunter was born. Most of my family is Creole, Cherokee Indian and Black which I now understand since over half of my families on both sides are from Louisiana.