The Pros And Cons Of Foster Care

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

The Foster Care System with the kids who are in it is a massive social issue that America is facing today. There are more than 640,000 foster children in the United States every year. There are 23,000 foster children living in group homes at one time. There are 32,000 who live in institutions, and twenty-seven states do not meet federal abuse and neglect standards. (Attention) Personally, I am a foster sister, because my family currently fosters. Therefore, we see the issues and needs of fostering, daily. (Rapport and Credibility) This speech will discuss the importance of the nature of foster care, the catastrophic problems of foster care, and the proposed solution for the foster care system in America. (Preview)

Benefits of the foster care system include: keeping children out of abusive homes; providing stability; and cultivating secure attachments. In general, proponents of the foster care system believe it plays an essential role in providing a safe and stable environment for maltreated, neglected, and abused children (Lockwood, Friedman, & Christian, 2015). In fact, “advocates suggest that family situations that necessitate the use of the foster care system are often very complex and therefore require patience and time. They emphasize that the temporary nature of foster care is the best solution while state agencies work to achieve family reunification or otherwise resolve the family crisis” (Geraldine & Wagner, para 4, 2015).

For many years, foster care has been a difficult subject throughout our society. When the idea of foster care comes to mind, many immediately think of screaming children, distressed parenting and uphill battles. Before foster care existed in the United States, orphaned children were sent to orphanages. While these institutions were often the best option available to children with nowhere else to go, they often lacked the necessary staff, structure and resources to adequately care for all of the children in need. As a result, some orphanages were overcrowded, and children lived in poor conditions. Some children even died due to the lack of sufficient care (Adoptions, 2017). In order to give children better living situations, the United

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.

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.

More than two-hundred and fifty thousand children enter the foster care system each year, making it extremely difficult to find the right caregiver for each child. There are so may effects on the child that last their entire lifetime, making it difficult for them to trust others. Not being able to trust their peers, they often find it hard to make friends and long-term relationships last. Fortunately, there are many results that can improve everyone’s position in placing the child. Foster care agencies repeatedly create destructive situations due to the selected caregiver, as well as the plethora of glitches that are created. Due to the unacceptable and inappropriate selection of foster parents, the child frequently experiences difficulties and disadvantages later on. Most children are placed into foster care because of mistreatment and experience the same treatment in their foster homes. Unfortunately, a lot of times the foster parent will take their anger out on their foster child, making a wide array of short-term and long-term complications for the child.

As family structure changes children pay the biggest price. They may lose the luxury of a stable home or school to call their own, when parent are no longer in the picture either. This is an issue that is largely ignored by society and most importantly the government. Without the foster system, children would be left abandoned and forgotten by all. The foster system provides thousands of homes for foster children each year, with parents that can give them what they need. But, foster care in America is inadequate for all American foster children and needs to be improved. Improvements are critical in bettering American foster systems, these improvements include, creating programs, finding more stable homes, and starting mentoring programs

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

Due to the selection of unacceptable or inappropriate foster parents the foster child can experience many difficulties and disadvantages during and later on in their lives. Even before children will enter into the foster care system most will experience maltreatment which is the main reason that children will be put into the foster care system (Salazar 140). This fact is unfortunately ironic due to the fact that once many children enter into foster care they will experience neglect and maltreatment from their appointed foster parents! Many children will average about five to six years in the foster care system and go through about four to seven homes (Salazar 140). This is unfortunate mainly because many children need a stable home to live in order to have a productive life, and if any child desperately needed a stable home it would be kids in the foster care system. Unfortunately, many children in the foster care system will have attended as many as eleven schools by the time they reach their senior year in high school (Williamson 62). This is mainly

On the other hand, people believe that the foster care system is doing a service to the society. Those families offering foster care for children are indeed giving service to the community and helping kids off the streets. It allows the families to be involved and to feel good with the difference that they are making to the lives of those children. However, the opportunity of being a foster family is not for everyone. Children can be expensive. For one, if it is an infant, think of the cost of diapers and formula, even as a child gets older they need not only necessities, but also experiences like a normal child that will cost money. Things like going to the movies, go shopping and even going out to dinner with their friends. Children

According to numerous studies and research, children who have support systems at home, strong and loving relationships with parents, and educators who are willing to reach out and help a student succeed, will also have a higher rate of success in education, relationships, and overall accomplishments (Cotton, 1980). Studies from researchers at Pepperdine University in California claim a connection to middle schoolers who start algebra early and the probability of finishing college; the correlation suggested in high. With studies such as these claiming high correlation between specific caring relationships and the focus of timing on school academics, it is alarming to know that the state agencies who have full responsibility of over 400,000 children per year (Kelly, 2004) are failing drastically. Research proves that around 50% of children in foster care drop out of high school. Another 20% become homeless; living on welfare (Zetlin, Weinberg, 2010). This research proposal is a focus on the support systems that needs to build upon in the school. Research proves that children with a strong support system have a better chance for success, therefore implementing programs that support foster children individually, should greatly decrease dropout rates for this population.

“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life”(Plato). Plato’s assessment was accurate, because the importance of learning enables individuals to put their potentials to optimal use. The foster care system can handicap the educational achievement of children. This handicap can follow those children beyond the scholastic world and into the professional world. Today, seventy percent of teens that break away from foster care report that they want to attend college, but less than fifty percent graduate from high school. Fewer than twenty percent of those who graduate from high school actually enroll in college, and of those less than three-percent graduate with a degree. Post emancipation, fifty percent are

In the classroom, teachers lack the training to effectively teach a foster child. To be able to promote educational stability for the child, it is paramount that the teacher is in communication with the foster parents. In an article by National Center Brief, the authors list the appropriate responsibilities of a teacher when caring for a foster child (7,8). The list includes having monthly meetings with the child’s foster parents, caseworkers, and principal to catch each other up on how the child is doing and how they can better plan the child’s educational future. One of the ways teachers can better aid children in the foster care system is by looking at their educational assessment prior to being in foster care.