The Foster System

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

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.

In America it is stated that 1 in every 84 children live in foster care circumstances via "Statistics on Foster Care". There is a numerous amount of contrasting children from various backgrounds and ages living within these special housing homes, and many are repeatedly in and out from unstable circumstances. As children grow and mature into the new faces of the world, they face many obstacles and tribulations that will alter their lives. Living in fostering homes is a substantial example and the effects of living in these institutions can truly be great.

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 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.

According to the Children’s Bureau, there were 427,910 children in the foster care system in 2016. Placements in a foster family have dramatically increased over the last ten years. For some young children and young adults in the foster care system, they have experienced abuse and neglect and have been removed from their parents. Other children have suffered a variety of parental problems such as drug addiction, abandonment, incarceration, mental and physical impairments and death. These painful experiences associated with maltreatment and the trauma of being removed from parents or caregivers can affect the mental health and development of these young people. “ Most children in foster care, if not all experience feelings of confusion,

Ronald Kessler, an American journalist, author of the article "Effects of Enhanced Foster Care on the Long-term Physical and Mental Health of Foster Care Alumni" claims, ¨child maltreatment is a significant risk factor for adult mental disorders and physical illnesses¨ (2). Child maltreatment is not only a risk factor for children, but it is also the number one reason children are put into foster care services today. Foster care is when a child is relocated to another home because of a crisis within the biological family. The child or children may be taken out of the adults care for reasons such as abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child, as well as if the guardian has a personal problem, much like drug addiction. One of the issues grabbing

An adult’s psychological development depends on one’s childhood experiences with adults and their capability of providing nurturance, protection, trust, and security to the developing child. Children with current and previous ties to the foster care system were found to have behavioral, emotional, and social well-being issues. The United States averages more than 400,000 children in foster care during the year. Amongst these 400,000 children, as many as 50% have developmental disorders or psychiatric diagnoses (Hutchinson). Children placed within the foster care system are more likely to be found to have mental health issues due to the inadequacy

The foster care system has been stretched too thin as the turn of the 21st century rolled around. Higher entrance into the system with new policies and lower staff has given way to a new problem-the highly abusive environment that surrounds the whole system. The mistreatment of the children and their foster families within in the system is now a prevalent issue in the Child Welfare Organization. The long-term effects of the abusive foster care system comes from the mismanagement of the system such as the instability within placement, lack of rights to foster families, ignoring culture heritage and misused policies that create detrimental health for the children in later years. The harsh foster care system under the control of the government in the U.S. can be changed with the addition of reorganization to the agency via more staff and communication and stability through more permanent placements for the children as well as the families. First I will define what I mean by abuse and address the current problems that the foster care system is facing such as instability and mismanagement. Then I will explain what the possible negative long-term effects of entrance into the foster care system. Finally I will discuss what steps could be taken to change this situation such as the creation of stable housing and uniform programs for the foster care system.

When a child is placed into the foster care system they are constantly moved between homes. In the article Foster-Care System Stretched Too Far, a foster mother spoke about a young boy that she adopted after he was forced to stay in "32 different foster homes within a five-year period before she adopted him.” Another young lady named Debbie who was interviewed in the article spoke about being separated from her siblings at the age of five and was consequently placed in 12 different foster homes within a five-year period. Moving between homes can lead stressful situation for the children, often causing them to act out or engage in dangerous

According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting system, in 2011 there were 104, 236 children waiting to be adopted in the United States (p. 4). Adoption is the legal process an individual or family goes through to gain legal custody of a child in foster care. This child’s parents have lost custody of their child because they have been deemed unfit to raise the child, either because of neglect or abuse. After the child is removed from the horrible situation, he or she is taken by child services and placed in a foster home or with a family member. This system is in place to protect children from further abuse, neglect and trauma. Today, children in foster care are in the system for a very short period of time; there is a

Imagine one day that all of a sudden when you and your siblings arrive home from school, and your parents are nowhere to be found. Your neighbor informs you that ICE officials raided your house and deported your parents. According to CNN News, that’s exactly what happened to the Soza siblings, Ronaldo, 14 and Cesia, 17. They are a prime example of what the effects of deportation can have on children. According to an ACR report there is an estimated 5,100 children who are currently in the foster care system. The foster care system would put the child in danger of never seeing their parents again. According to ICE there is an average, 17 children who are placed in the foster care system, due to the detainment and deportation of their parents

Is the foster system really a good place for any person? Most adolescents would have to deal with other adolescents always starting fights, degrading you, and stealing your belongings. Adolescents in the foster care system turn to crime, have to deal with depression, and deal with having no one to really trust. When I was in the system, I was stabbed, I was shot, and constantly bullied; I hated each day of being in the foster system. I saw everyday as a struggle with no one to turn to. The only peace I had was to read a book and immerse myself into a make believe world. I believe the foster system is ineffective because children in the foster system struggle through their experiences of group homes and foster homes.

Professor Martha L. Coulter is a professor in the Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health at the University of South Florida. She is also the Director of the James and Jennifer Harrell Center for the Study of Family Violence, a position she has held since the year 1994. Her passion is maternal and child health with a devoted career to promoting the lives of children and families. She initially started out as a social worker, after receiving her MSW from Tulane University, but developed a joint interest in maternal and child health and child maltreatment after working with a program called Cripple Children Services in Louisiana. She subsequently got her MPH from the University of California at Berkeley (1976) and

The children are often moved around to multiple foster chimes in a short amount of time, unable to feel as if they are wanted. Kaylee a foster kid said “It is hard to be moved around all the time. Permanence is important because then we can feel like we belong and settle, rather than get moved around and fell worthless because we feel that no one wants us.” She shows that foster children don't get the emotional support they need from having a long term, stable family. Without a long term family many who age out of the system don't get the financial support to substance themselves.