I Had Never Heard Of Foster Care

The main idea of this book is to show everyone what child abuse and what living in different foster homes is like because most of the time people don’t usually talk about this topic due to sensitivity and this book helped everyone realize in a subtle way. I learned that this story isn’t just imagined, but it does indeed happen in real life. Children do live in households where the mother or father or whoever treats them unfair and that is what opened up my eyes.

I remember it like it was yesterday. There i was a eight year old child, standing there in our front yard when the social worker dropped off our very first foster child. My parents placed the baby in my arms and as i stared down at it, i remember the very first thoughts running through my head; what the heck are we supposed to do with this!/ we are supposed to take care of this thing Well six months later, surprisingly, the baby still lived, but we had all just began a journey that would continue throughout the rest of my life. The one thing conclusion that i have come throughout these past 8 years is that foster system is indeed a problem that needs to be recognized and addressed by EVERYONE. And i hope to persuade you on this by exploring the problem, privileges, and promise for these kids.

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.

My mother was a foster parent and my best friend was in foster care for years. I realized at 23 that I was good with people and knew this was a way to constantly interact with people for a good cause. I enjoy helping families in need as I know what it takes to maintain a family. I can relate to people in need as I share some of the same experiences.

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.

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

The foster care system is defined as “the raising or supervision of foster children, or orphans or delinquents, in an institution, group home, or private home, usually arranged through a government or social service agency that provide remuneration for expenses” (dictionary.com) The foster system is used when the guardian of the child is not fit to raise the child. Although it is believed that the foster care system is effective, there are many problems with it. When admitted into foster care, it is common to be moved several times. Being forced to move so frequently can lead to fear of being close to someone as well as misbehaving. While the idea of foster care is respectable, when put into action it fails to fulfill the goals and can often

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.

“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life” (Arthur Ashe). Entering the foster care system at the age of nine became a probability. Mental health issues and imprisonment plagued my parents, resulting in my removal from their care. There were no direct family members that were willing to care for myself except my aunt. My case worker conducted a home visit and she brought by a piggy bank made out of a sock. It must have been around Christmas time. That memory is the only memory I have of my case worker. From that day onward, I told myself that I would become a social worker. I told myself that I would become a better social worker than the one assigned to myself. I had no understanding of the stressful

According to author Susan Egbert Cutler, “foster care provides children, youth, or adults with supervision and a place to live outside of their usual home setting” (Cutler). Typically, a person gets placed in foster care because they come from an unsafe home environment and are unable to care for themselves on their own (Cutler). The experiences of every child in foster care are different because there are so many variables that contribute to whether or not a particular foster home is a good fit for the child: the biological parents, the foster parents, the circumstances of the placement, and the foster child themselves. For example, Wanda Corley, who was a child placed in foster care during the 1950s, has her own unique perspective on foster

A lot of articles about the foster care system discuss how mental illness affects foster children, how trauma could lead to problems in caring for the foster child, and how an increased level of movement can affect their willingness to be social, which are all topics that students that are in the social sciences and humanities discuss on a day to day basis. For example, in the article “Changes in Externalizing and Internalizing Problems of Adolescents in Foster Care” by McWey, Cui, and Pazdera (2010), they used the National Survey of Child and Adolescent well-being longitudinal study to discuss the externalizing and internalizing problems of children in the foster care system based on type of maltreatment, gender and age. They used a

Residence for children who have been a victim to abuse, neglect or other matters in their family that put them in harms way. This is what the foster care system was designed for. It keeps these children safe and provides a temporary home until the parents get their life together and prove themselves or they do not, and the children get adopted by loving families.

Foster care is an intervention strategy that provides youth in at-risk situations with out of home placements (Lawrence, Carlson, & Egeland, 2006). Although this approach is designed to protect the overall safety of vulnerable children, foster care often has a lasting impact on youth. Out-of-home placement can cause children to develop physical, developmental, and mental health problems throughout the rest of their lives (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). Among the many challenges suffered by children who are in foster care, however, low educational achievement has been found to have the most detrimental consequences for their future life opportunities (Jackson, 1994). For example, many young adults who attend college after departing the foster care system don’t graduate; in fact, only 5% of these individuals receive a diploma (Wright, 2013). Children who have been in foster care often qualify to receive generous grants and scholarships from their selected institutions. Although they have financial support, they still find themselves vulnerable to failure due to a lack of social support (Wright, 2013). To make matters worse, the experiences that led to their failure in school often go unnoticed in institutions throughout the United States (Wright, 2013). Increasing the overall knowledge of the foster care system in educational setting would help improve the academic performances of foster children (National Working Group on Foster

After carefully reviewing the media presentation, I chose to focus on Maurice Williams who is the program director for the human life center. Mr. Williams stated that his main concern as a director is making sure that foster parents are not calling the hotline stating that they will like the foster child to be removed out of their home immediately. An issue that Mr. Williams stated that he having now in as a director is the demand of more children. He believes that the lack of children in the program is a very big issue and he would like to created programs that can help bring more children. In order for his program to grow he will need to have more clients, which mean that his program is ran and operated.

The ICAR5 is the premiere international child welfare and adoption conference. My participation in ICAR5 is a boon to both myself and the COPP/Social Work for at least three reasons. First, the acceptance of three papers is recognition of my innovative and groundbreaking research on the post-permanence experiences of adolescents who exited foster care through adoption or guardianship. One of the paper presentations is a collaborative effort with a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee colleague and another paper highlights the work of two of my UTSA graduate students. Having the opportunity to present and disseminate this important scholarship offers opportunities to receive peer/expert feedback on my work raises my and UTSA’s profile among