The Child Welfare System

Child protective services (CPS) is a government agency located in many states across the United States that helps children stay away from harm and abuse. Child protective services and its agencies plays a big role in society. Children of all ages are assaulted and most of the times by a dearest loved one. Child abuse is defined as any type of neglect upon a child including mentally, physically, and sexually.

The controversial issue of whether or not Child Protective Services are doing their jobs properly, has grabbed nationwide attention. Child Protective Services is the name of a government agency in many states of the United States whose mission is to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. Some of these cases may include physical abuse, sexual abuse, and mental abuse (Wikipedia). The child welfare system is corrupted. The parents and guardians who are accused of abuse are automatically labeled as guilty and will have to prove their innocence; instead of being innocent until proven guilty.

Child welfare systems are designed to ensure the safety and well-being of children and families. The mission of this system is a noble one and can be very rewarding and beneficial for all involved.  Ironically, that same system that is designed to help families in times of crisis can be, harsh and challenging to families and social workers.

Keeping this is mind; Justice Harrison made a statement stating that “Abraham’s anger and resentment about her own childhood has today affected her parenting.”

children, the option of adoption still remains complicated, as disabled individuals are often viewed as incapable as parents in this culture (Lightfoot et al., 2010; Smith, 2015).

Child welfare systems typically receive and investigate reports of possible child abuse and neglect; provide services to families that need assistance in the protection and care of their children; arrange for children to live with foster families when they are not safe at home; and arrange for reunification, adoption, or other permanent family connections for children leaving foster care.When you look up what the Child welfare system it says,

Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people "age out" of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services (. Several studies show that without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, this older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of adverse situations. Compared to other youth in the United States, kids who age out of foster care are more likely to not have completed high school or received a GED, they often suffer from mental health problems, many are unemployed and live in poverty, and nearly 40% become homeless.

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.

Physical abuse is when a child is physically hurt . Hitting, beating, throwing, shaking are all physical abuse.

For some children, it begins at birth, when it is clear that a mother cannot take care of her newborn infant. Others may come to the consideration of child welfare when an official such as; a teacher, a social worker, a police officer, or a neighbor reports child protective services. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. Child maltreatment in 2001, approximately 3 million referrals were made to child protective services, and more than 900,000 children were found to be victims of maltreatment. When child maltreatment is verified, caseworkers and courts must decide whether the child can safely remain home if the family is provided with in-home services, or whether the child should be placed into state care. In 2001, 290,000 children entered the foster care system. (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System)

Due to the increasing rate of children being placed into foster care, and the lack of support to meet every youth’s need, America’s foster systems fail to achieve stable placement. When placement plans do not last as long as planned, placement moves are organized and it is called Placement Breakdown. It is common for teenage youth in the foster system to go through placement breakdowns. According to the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), previous difficulties that may affect the level of a youth’s emotional disturbance and motivation to stay in placement contributes to breakdowns. The lack of motivation can stem from “over optimistic expectations”, and absence of support system (SCIE).

The second account of a changing stance toward children’s rights was evolution alongside women’s rights. Before this time, women and children were seen as unimportant under the law, whereas a father was given almost total control over all matters regarding his wife and children. If a father was violent or neglectful, society simply turned their shoulder to it. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, laws pertaining to the family system began to change. A new law recognized the equal rights of fathers and mothers with the mother’s rights reigning over the fathers in regards to the children. Also, the legal system began viewing children as important to the future of society, therefore “appropriate objects of the court’s

The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) states that there are 427,910 children in the foster care system as of September 30, 2015. This report focuses on number of those that are in foster care system, it shows statistics on race, gender, reason for placement, and age; yet it lacks to include those foster children that are from the LGBT community. Therefore, this paper is going to demonstrate the historical aspect of LBGT youth in foster care, the prevalence of the issues that the foster care system has, current services that are available, and a personal analysis on this topic.

Since the 1990’s approximately 8-10 million children in the US alone are raised in a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) household. Same-Sex Adoption is controversial because many people throughout the world are against LGBT adoption; but when faced with the number of kids who pray everyday for someone out there wanting to be the parent of a foster child, it is difficult to understand why the topic of gay adoption is controversial. Yes, there can be a bad outcome but there can also be a very good outcome of these kinds of adoptions. The LGBT Adoption situation can be fixed by allowing any adult or parent to adopt a child if they have the right living environment or the knowledge and skills that it takes to raise a kid in the proper way. But social workers have reservations on considering gay adoptive parents because they are fearful of how the parents will treat and raise the children and how they will grow up feeling. People who oppose same sex marriage, including U.S. elected officials, have argued that a child raised by a LGBT parent will need additional emotional support or will face social challenges compared to children with heterosexual parents (Borreli). Although many people believe that LGBT parents shouldn’t be allowed to adopt because it affects the child, LGBT parents should be allowed to adopt because many kids need a place to call home or someone they can call family, they need someone in a similar situation that they can talk

PER REPORTER: Loretta said today when she went to visit her grandchildren she noticed that their mother (Samantha) left them at home alone with her mother (Donna) and aunt (Stephanie) whom are both in wheel chairs. She said in 2000 when she took Samantha to court it was said in the court room that the children were not supposed to be left in the care of the women due to them being in a wheel chair. However, she said she is not sure if the children have ever been harmed due to being left in the care of Donna and Stephanie. Loretta mentioned that today when she went to visit the children Donna told her that she could not allow her to come into the house to see the children, because she said Samantha would have a fit if she allowed her in the