The Importance Of Legal Permanence For Children In Foster Care

The number of children in the foster care system continues to increase. While the foster care system is essential in helping abused, abandoned, and neglected children, many children remain in foster care for long periods of time when family reunification or adoption is planned. Court delays can often extend the time between when children enter the foster care system and when they are placed into permanent homes. Significant differences exist in the quality of care and outcomes for children depending on their race and ethnicity. The percentage of children of color in the foster care system is larger than the percentage of children of color among the general U.S. population. However, the occurrence of child abuse and neglect is at about the same rate in all racial/ethnic groups.

After years of contemplation and assignment of these preparations to abolish child abuse, the foster care system exposed an onslaught of problems resulted regardless of their best efforts. The foster care system systematically evolves their roles and rules in accordance with the constant changing rules and regulations. However,

In the past few decades there has be an increasing amount of children placed in the foster care system. With the amount of rising teen pregnancies and maternal drug abuse means increasing numbers of infants abandoned at birth. There have been many cases of child abuse or neglect that have been on the rise. State and local agencies are unable to suitably supervise foster homes or arrange adoptions. Statistics show that many children will spend most of their childhood and teenage years in the foster care system, which has shown to leave emotional scars on the child. Today, Child Welfare groups are looking for federal funding and legislation to increase programs and services aimed at keeping families together.

Foster Care and Adoption are the most multi-faceted areas of child welfare. Foster care consists of placing children outside of the custody of their parents or legal guardians. This out-of-home placement can be temporary or long-term. Adoption on the other hand, consists of the legal and permanent process that establishes a parent/child relationship between individuals not related biologically (Downs, Moore, & McFadden, 2009). These two areas of child welfare are constantly evolving and the decisions made on a child’s behalf can affect many areas of their biological, spiritual, social, and emotional wellbeing.

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.

The U.S foster care system is corrupt and the children trapped in it face the worst of it. The goal of foster care is to eventually reunite children with their parents or find the child a safe, loving home. Instead, foster kids face the harsh reality of abuse, mental illness, and temporary homes. The children and ripped from the homes they’ve known their entire lives because their parents struggle financially. The system would rather pay strangers to the child to take care of him/her rather than helping the parents of the child. This case would be called “neglect” when in reality most parents were doing all they could to take care of their children. The children’s new foster parents are paid hundreds of dollars per month. Often times, the money doesn’t go to the child and he/she is left truly neglected. The system is broken because children are taken from their homes for the wrong reasons and put into unsafe environments that will have a traumatic effect on the rest of their lives.

Over 600,000 children in the United States are in the foster care system. Reasons include, abuse, neglect and abandonment. These children lack nurturing environments and stable homes. Children within the foster care system have more mental, physical and developmental problems. It is imperative to understand the challenges children entering the foster care system are exposed to. The system works best when children are provided nurturing, and short-term care until they can be placed back home safely or a permanent adoptive family. For many children, however, the stay is longer, with 30% remaining in temporary care for over two years. Staying in the system is detrimental to the child’s well-being. The foster care system is an unsuccessful intervention for children that cultivates development, health and mental issues.

On any given day there are 428,000 children in the foster care system (“Foster Care.”). Every single child in the foster care system is in the state’s custody and should be protected by the states. Yet, this year in Kansas, the two foster care services providers has admitted to not knowing where some of the children are. Of the seven thousand children in Kansas foster care (The Kansas City editorial staff) KVC Kansas, which is in charge of the eastern region of the state, has owned up to not knowing the whereabouts of thirty-eight children (The Kansas City editorial staff). While the service in charge of the western portion of the state, Saint Francis Community Services, also does not know the whereabouts of thirty-six children. In total that is seventy foster children who are missing (The Kansas City editorial staff). No one knows if the children ran away, if they were abducted or if they are still alive. With children being the United States future, some would think that they would be held in high regard, but with so many uncared for children in foster care they are not. The American Foster Care System is a broken system because of the children’s mental and physical health, how the children leave the system and how this system is controlled.

I bet you've never seen what happened to kids in foster care. Some children need different care than others, and might live a better life if they could get care that meets their needs. This information allows this paper to state that foster care systems have some major issues that need to be fixed. This can be supported because the children in foster care that are running away, the many deaths and abuse of children, their futures being affected, and lastly, i'm going to talk about a way to solve some of these problems, or at least how you can prevent them. First topic is going to be about the children that run away from foster care.

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.

There are over 428,000 children in the foster system(“Children rights”). Every day 1,200 kids enter the foster system in the United States(“Together”) and theses children come with multiple issues when they enter the foster care system. Children enter the foster care system for several reasons but mostly it is due to neglect or abuse from the parents. As a former foster child I have been one of the kids that have suffered for what there parents have done. I have suffered from depression . Children that have gone through the foster care system have a higher risk of having mental health issues such as depression and anxiety as well as long term physical issues. Ultimately , these issues pose challenges that affect every aspect of the child's life.

Children being placed in the foster care system usually come from unhealthy or unsafe situations, some might be mourning the death of a parent; therefore, whatever the circumstance is it is crucial the child’s wellbeing be put first. In many situations the child is put into another low income or highly abusive home, or often times the system is not temporary for the child. Each foster kid should be closely monitored by the state, the child’s wellbeing is crucial to the development of their future. We should do thorough investigations on the homes, before and while the child is under their care. If a child ever feels unsafe in their foster home, there should be an immediate investigation of the home.

In an article published in the New York Times July 7, titled “Suit to Accuse New York City and State of Keeping Children in Foster Care Too Long” author Vivian Lee discuses a suit against New York filed by the city public advocate’s office. The suit accuses the system of delays, mismanagement, and incompetence, causing harm to children by keeping them in the system for months and years longer than necessary.

“More than half a million children are in foster care in the United States today—roughly double the number who were in foster care in the mid-1980s, according to the Child Welfare League of America” (Nakyanzi). Children placed in foster care have been abused and neglected by their loved ones, and instead of helping the kids mend the broken family, foster care services pull them apart by sending the kids to foster home after foster home. Foster care was meant to help and protect children from abuse and neglect that they were receiving at home, yet there are problems with the foster care system. By placing children in family preservation programs instead of foster homes, past studies have shown that the kids end up having a better life because

Although the federal government controls the funding that will enhance the family relationship by supplying services, this unfortunately does not always rectify the family situation. If the system in place doesn’t work and the parent isn’t ready to have the child returned, this will leave a negative impact on the parent-child relationship. The parent may become frustrated and resort to behaviors such as substance abuse, physical abuse, and verbal abuse jeopardizing the parent-child relationship. As stated in Foster Care at issue, by Debra Bloom, family reunification is less likely to occur when parents are involved in the correctional system. Reporting that 16 % of mothers with children in foster care are arrested within 18 months, with the arrest occurring after the child has been placed in foster care. Suggesting that child welfare look beyond the system when developing potential outcomes.