Transitioning Youth Research Paper

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.

Each year 542,000 children nationwide live temporarily with foster parents, while their own parents struggle to overcome an addiction to alcohol, drugs, illness, financial hardship or other difficulties (Mennen, Brensilver, & Trickett, 2010.) The maltreatment they experienced at home, the shock of being separated from their birth parents, and the uncertainty they face as they enter the foster care system leave many children feeling abandoned or lost. Children have many needs, but while in foster care these needs are not always met. A supportive family environment is created for those children whose parents are not able to take the

Unfortunately, this is the cold, sad reality of many children and teens who have been thrown into the system like a piece of meat for the wolves to devour. I have decided to write about the issues of foster care and the abuse children and teens face while moving through this broken system. Over the past years, I have developed a passion to intercede on behalf of our youth. I want to help them navigate through a life filled with turmoil and discord. I chose this topic because I want to make a difference in the lives of these mistreated, misunderstood, and misguided children and teens. One might ask, “How can we fix such a system with these particular problems?” Although I may not have the “right” answer to that question, I do believe there is a way to repair the massive leak that has caused a system meant to serve and protect our youth to

An estimated 1,200 Texas youth are emancipated (or age-out) from foster care each year because they reached the age of majority (Texas Department of Family and Protective Services [TDFPS], 2015). The abrupt discharge from foster care requires youth to assume adult responsibilities and become self-sufficient with limited or no support. This critical developmental period – the transition to adulthood –for former foster youth is characterized by an increased risk for bleak outcomes across key well-being indicators. These young people are more likely than their counterparts in the general population to experience poor physical health, mental health, and substance use outcomes (Brandford & English, 2004; Courtney et al. 2007; McMillen & Raghavan,

A child remaining in foster care needs education, having healthy relationships and a stable home. Children who have been removed from their homes experience trauma, anxiety, and loss. School stability is an important building block for getting a good education. “Youth in foster care twice as likely as the rest of the school-age population to drop out before completing high school” (page 69). When youth reach of the age of eighteen they have the right to leave foster care but later on struggle with adulthood. Children who aged out of foster care tend to become homeless, incarceration, mental illness, or sell their bodies. In addition, while struggling to prepare for adulthood, Congress have created the Independent Living Program that would

The foster care system is not beneficial to children because transitioning kids out of their home, into a foster parents’ residence, and then to a variety of other locations does not have a positive effect on children. In fact, transitioning foster kids often creates a great deal of issues that snowball into a much more serious effect. Some of the issues that arise from transitioning kids in foster care are the lack of preparation into adulthood, education success decrease, and having mixed feelings on various issues. Luckily, this process can be fixed. To raise fosters to become contributing, successful adults, it is necessary for a replacement of the foster care system. What it would be replaced with is an institution that values family

The transition to adulthood always seemed to be some momentous or celebratory event; something which everyone should be able to look forward to. While that's what is brought to mind when the transition is brought up, that isn't always the reality. I became an adult more than ever as a 15-year-old in the second semester of my freshman year.

Since then I have followed how the foster system in the state of Rhode Island is truly lacking in meeting the needs of children. Currently, I am working in a program for dually diagnosed adolescent boys with sexualized behaviors. While this has been extremely rewarding it has also been unfortunate to see the trauma that takes place in many foster care and group homes before their admission to the agency. Unfortunately, the trauma is often times relived over and over as children get placed back into homes of abusive parents or moved into a “safer” home which ultimately ends up more dangerous than where they had been taken from. Currently I have been able to work directly with Licensed Social Workers, The Department of Children and Family, The Department of Mental Health, as well as many other outside agencies in order to get the best care possible for adolescences in the program. In doing so I have been given a small glimpse at how fast pace the world of professional social work can become as well as how difficult it can be to transition youth into adult services. Transitional services is an area I have gained a particular interest in over the course of the last

Based on evidence suggesting that the ages between 18 and 21 are among the most vulnerable for those transitioning from foster care, the proposed program is one that provides assistance during this risky time. Research

People mark the point of reaching adulthood in many different ways, such as the eighteenth birthday, puberty, or getting their drivers license. I consider the major transition point into adulthood as being when I got my first job. I was hired about a month after my sixteenth birthday. I had been applying for jobs so I would have something to do and a way of making money. I applied to numerous different places and many different kinds of places, including fast food restaurants and clothing stores. The day after I sent in all my applications, I got a call from Sonic Drive-In. I was so excited to have my first job. I have worked there for nearly six months and loved every minute of it.

We all enjoyed those days when we were children, free to play outside and run around all day with no hint of responsibility. When we are children, we are motivated to be like our parents and taking what we admire about them. Then when we hit the teenager stages, we think we know everything and that the entire world is looking at us for attention. Slowly but surely, we realize that the adult world is not all that we thought it would be, as we got older. Starting college, learning how to take care of rent and bills, figuring out your career path and taking care of your parents is not all that fun when you get down to it. We do what we do every day to take care of the ones that we love, especially our parents and

Furthermore, Munson (2010) also explored the nature of non-family, natural mentoring relationships between mentors and youths who were in the process of exiting foster care. These authors found that most youths meet mentors through formal systems such as adults who work in child welfare, education, or mental health. In both of these studies, it was the qualitative nature of the relationship that was examined, such as positive characteristics of mentors, features of the relationship perceived to be helpful, and the kind of support the mentors offered

Currently, I have several supports that are helping me transition to adulthood. These supports come from Saint Ambrose, my friends, and family. Personally, most of these support systems have had a positive impact on my development; however, other’s support systems may not have had a positive impact on their development.

There are a few studies that explored the benefits of youth in foster care who were able to identify a natural mentoring relationship. In a study conducted by Greenson, Usher and Grinstein-Weiss (2010), foster care youth who identified a natural mentor demonstrated an increase in assets such as bank accounts. The authors found that the presence of a natural mentor in the lives of foster care youth increases the youth’s asset accumulation similar to the comparison group of youth without foster care experience. Generally when a youth in foster care experiences financial hardships the consequences are dire, a small miscalculation can result in disconnection of utility or even chronic homelessness. Unlike youth in the general population, youth

Social support is a must when a teen is trying to transition out of foster care due to the weak humankind. Collins stated how such support may contribute to the positive functioning and well-being. Studying placement in foster care as a disruption of social network, levels of network disruptions ties within 3 social networks family, peers, foster care, and the impact of psychological distress. (Collins) If a child has all three networks will less likely encounter depression and anxiety. Social networking can come from any sources as long they have someone by their side during this change. The formal system of child welfare caseworkers, foster parents, therapists and so forth can provide support and act above and beyond their required role.