Foster Parent's Report

As a child I grew up in the foster care system. My formative years consisted of uncertainty and confusion since I was not able to express myself effectively to the state assigned child advocates. During my time in foster care I volunteered to care for the younger children who had special needs. As I began to care for the children especially with neurological brain damage I became intrigued by how little science seemed to know about Special Education or effective treatment. At the age of eleven I started reading peer-reviewed articles such as Neurology journal and Exceptional Children (EC) trying to adsorb everything science related that would provide answers. Several years after I aged out of the system I had a child of my own who was born with severe Autism and sensory integration disorder. My son Andrew was non-verbal for the first four years even after extensive

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

As of 2016 there were nearly a half million children in the foster care system, with roughly 25,000 “aging-out” each year (Ahmann, 2017). Most adolescents “age out” of the system with no one to mentor or serve as a caring parent figure. Foster youth are in dire need of long-term adult role models to guide them to achieve success. According to Ahmann, 50% of foster youth left “the system” without a high-school degree, as well as with having higher rates of PTSD, and depression (p. 43). Ahmann presented that research has proven teenagers, in general, that have quality relationships from adults able to provide support, do better than those that do not. If research has shown efficacy in supportive adult figures in a teen’s life then one can conclude that foster youth would also benefit. Foster children are at a disadvantage a soon as they enter “the system” so giving them resources proven positive is vital to their future success.

This paper is a summary of what research has been done in the field of foster care. It will focus on foster care social workers, foster care parents, children in foster care, etc. In this work there will also be reference to aspects of adoption and foster care together. This paper will encompass all parties affected by foster care and will ultimately talk about what qualities are expected of social workers who work in foster care.

For my Engagement Activity I conducted a series of research activities on foster care. It wasn’t exactly a specific organization, but a variety of them. This was to have different functions of how foster care and adoption works to unite new families together.

The maltreatments that children face prior to entering into the foster care system can be grouped into neglect, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, and sexual abuse. Though these forms of abuse can be identified separately identified, they often occur concurrently with

Foster Parent One: Shelly was born and raised in Avery, TX. She is the biological daughter of Delores Jackson and David Monsiviaz. Shelly was adopted by her maternal aunt and uncle, Eura and Woodrow Hicks at the age of 3, Shelly’s mother was killed in a car accident and her father was not accept by the family due to his ethnicity. Shelly reported she was informed by her adoptive parents that her biological father was dead as well. When Shelly was an adult she searched and located him, however she has never contacted him because she feels that should have been his job.

In the United States there are over a half a million children in the foster care system. (AFCARS Report, 2015) The foster care system is a temporary arrangement for children whose parents are not able to care for them. (adopt.org) Foster care can be arranged through the courts or a social service agency. The goal for a child in the foster care system is usually reunification with the birth family, but may be changed to adoption when this is seen as in the child's best interest.

Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (AFSA) clearly and unequivocally establishes three national goals for children in foster care: safety, permanency, and well-being. ASFA was in part “a response to the fact that more children were entering the foster care system than were exiting.” Five principles underlie the ASFA and apply to professionals working with families through public and private agencies as well as state courts. These principles are:

Children who were physically abuse and neglected in their childhood live a full and constructive life. Getting the proper help in a child's early years helps the children get stronger and better every day. Some people who grow up in foster care become foster care parents for children who were abused. Some people become foster care parents because they know how it’s like being in foster care. People make safe homes for children like group homes for children who are not wanted in foster homes. Children who dealt with any type of abuse in their childhood most likely become a social worker or even a counselor in the future. They help children who dealt with the same issue as they did. They reach back and help children have better lives and encourage

One of the ways foster care is inhibited is that the separation of the child from their parents and placement in a foster home can be traumatic for the child. In some instances where the child is not safe in their home, the first choice may be to remove the child and place them in foster care. Both the parents and child have a hard time accepting the situation. This separation causes conflicts and resistance from the child (Crosson-Tower, 2014, p. 316). Other myriad adjustments, such as lifestyle change, new school, new friends and neighbors, and at times a new culture, also inhibit the effectiveness of foster care placement. Foster care can create an environment of

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

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

As I reflect on the video, I have come into encounter with children that were neglected when I was a foster parent. These children were very difficult to comforted. However, I had to encourage them as well as support their well-being. After I had taken the children in my care, I built a relationship that required responsiveness. The environment in my home, I provided at the time, supported the welfare of the children. I supported them such as clothing, feeding, communicating with them, enrolling them in school, and listening to them. Some of the children I fostered, I had no clue of their background. Therefore, as a baby, the foster children could have interacting with the caregivers or not. Perhaps, these children could have developed

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