The Role Of Transcultural / Transracial Placement Essay

As a Latina who migrated as a teenager to the United States, I have felt conflicted with my personal values and those of my clients. Growing up, I was taught by my parents the importance of family union, which contributed to the formation of my personal identity. To me, it was very hard to see “success” in a disintegrated family. Being my first position in the social work field as a Foster Parent Advocate, it was a challenge to advocate for those families and their foster children because of my personal beliefs about family union. To me, it was shocking to learn that there were so many children taken away from their biological parents and placed in strangers’ homes.

There can be cultural, ethical, and legal concerns associated with this theory are somewhat intertwined. The possible assumption that if a child is born poor, of ethnic minority, raised in a violent setting, and neglected by parents – foster care placement may lead to disruption within the child’s chronosystem. This can lead to attachment issues related to trauma, increased fight or flight reactions that may lead to legal issues, academic challenges, and poor social skills. There is a possible ripple effect from life events and socioeconomic status that could lead to changes with behavior in association with the child’s environment. Understanding this theory can help with application in a school setting

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.

The government attempts continually to revise the foster care system to serve children more proficiently. However, more problems ensue these diligent efforts and modifications. In the article, “Influences on the Mental Health of Children Placed in Foster Care,” author Caroline R. Ellermann concludes, “Once in foster care, ongoing health problems and risk for further complications are exacerbated by (1) removal from the biological home and the trauma of parent separation,” (Ellermann, 2007, p. S23) The system designed to eradicate child abuse erroneously generated a trickle effect of problems. By the removal of these children, the government transpired additional emotional and health problems. Unbeknownst to the effect of the separation anxiety caused by the removal from biological family, these children became subject to abuse from the foster care system.

A foster carer should respect and nurture a child’s cultural, racial and religious identity they should

While the number of Latino children in foster care continues to increase, there is a shortage of Latino foster care/adoptive parents to take children in when they are placed in the system. Although it is not required that a Latino child be matched with a Latino family, it can be of great benefit for the child to be placed within their racial/ethnic group (Bausch, 1999). Reasons for the lack of available foster/adoptive parents in this community are greatly affected by Latino perceptions of foster care and adoption, cultural beliefs, and organizational barriers (Quintanilla, 2002).

Since the 1970’s, many debates and arguments have formed over the problems in the Florida foster care system. Some of the arguments were made as to whether different races should become foster families or whether or not is was suitable for gay couples to foster children. Another issue that arose was the children with special needs or older children that people didn’t want. As the foster system grew, it began to experience setbacks. There were now more children needing homes than available homes. The foster care system became full of problems. Foster parents started to complain about not having an adequate support system. The children were not receiving the medical treatments they needed. And foster children were staying in the system so long that some were aging out. Those that age out a were not receiving any support or training to cope with adult life. There was also a shortage in funding. In addition, there had become an alarming number of child abuse and neglect cases within the foster families. Although some aspects of foster care have improved, some changes still need to be made.

The overrepresentation of African American children in the foster care system is a major issue in the United States. African American children only represent about fourteen percent of the child population in the United States, yet represents for thirty percent of the children in the foster care system (Lorthridge, 2011). Ards (2012) stated that African American children are one and a half times more likely to be involved with child protective services and two times more likely to be placed in an out-of-home placement compared to any other race. Being a minority in a country, but the majority in an institution, such as foster care, is a significant problem. Not only is the overrepresentation of African American children a matter of question, but their experience while in foster care is concerning as well. African American children are overrepresented at every aspect in the foster care system and the numbers are not decreasing. According to Anyon (2011), African American children are overrepresented at every stage/decision point in the foster care system. The five stages are known as the five key decision points, which are, report of abuse and/or neglect, referral of report for investigation, reunification, out-of-home placement and termination of parental rights, and exiting the foster care system (Harris, 2008).

Transracial adoption the identity debate, is an immense concern because it confuses the child that they don’t belong to neither side black nor white. Because they have white parents, but the children’s race is black so they are in a confused stage that could affect them physiologically. The black child will end up wishing they were also white like their parents and will make them confused and not have a high self-esteem. Transracial adoption tends to have conflicting results toward the

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

The numbers of children in foster care continue to increase annually with minimal attempts to intercept the causes of the escalation. Children are generally placed into foster care as a result of parental abuse or neglect; however, there are many racial inconsistencies circulating general foster care involvement. In the year of 2014, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System reported a total of 415,129 children in the foster care system. Depending on their situation, children in the system are in need of some sort of home, whether that be temporary or permanent. When experiencing this type of shift in their lives, many children tend to act out. Foster care in the United States is a

To the thousands of children in foster care, adoption means being part of a family. Adoption signifies a chance to be loved, wanted, and cared for properly. Every year thousands of children enter the foster care system. In the year 2010 alone, 245,375 children entered foster care, of that number over 61,000 were black. An astounding 30,812 black children were waiting for adoption in 2010 (AFCARS). With so many children needing homes, it would seem their adoption would be open to any and all loving families, yet this is not the necessarily the case. Transracial adoption, which traditionally alludes to black children placed with white families, is riddled with difficulties. While transracial adoption can be a successful solution, many

Thesis: Transracial adoptees family situation affects many aspects of the adopted child’s life. Do these children have identity formation difficulties during adolescence and are there any significant differences between adoptees and birth children?

According to Panos (2000), the lack of culturally competent social workers may result in clients failing to receive appropriate services or, even worse, parents can potentially lose their children because of “non-compliance” with traditional approaches. Panos (2000) states that if cultural insensitivity is perceived on behalf of the client, it can be detrimental to the case plan. Panos also suggests that a sensitive assessment and case plan recognizes how clients’ cultural roots affect their future; further cooperation and compliance with the case plan may be enhanced by understanding the client’s cultural background. According to Fisher (2001), social workers and other professionals often form early impressions or assumptions of clients based on biases and preconceived perceptions, even when contradictory information emerges. Many of these preconceived biases are based on racial stereotypes. This can result in inappropriate assessments by social workers regarding their racial-ethnic minority clients, which can harm the outcome of the services provided.