Aging Out Of Foster Care: A Case Study

Aging out of foster care falls under the child welfare field of practice. Child welfare is a system that is designed to protect children through prevention/intervention, primarily focusing on children who have a risk of being abused or neglected. Child welfare itself overlaps with many other professions and disciplines such as doctors, law enforcement, and education professionals, etc. The well-being of a child should never solely be on the social worker as a child may see many of these professionals on a regular basis (NASW, 2013). Having connections with all the systems in a child’s life can be very beneficial for the child. In order to continue to serve children in the best way possible it is recommended that “we need to continue to build

The standard says “Social workers in child welfare shall actively engage older youths in addressing their needs while in out-of-home care and as they prepare to transition out of foster care” (NASW, 2013, p. 22). Meaning that there is great preparation done with the child who is exiting the foster care, planning for their new future as well as focusing on basic life skills that are necessary as an adult. It is the child’s social worker who ensures that there is a plan in place and the child has the skills to live on their own.

The National Association of Social Work has not taken a position on aging out of foster care specifically. There is a statistic in the issue statement that talks about aging out briefly. According to the child welfare issue statement from the NASW children whose mother is incarcerated are more likely to age out of the foster care system (Wheeler & McClain, 2015, 135). While the issue is only mentioned briefly it does talk about issues surrounding permanency and life after foster

There was the child saving efforts that happened in the United States in the 1800’s that has helped to evolve the system of child welfare (Mizrahi & Davis, 2008). The first government department that focused on the safety of children was created in 1912, the children’s bureau still remains in today’s child welfare system (Mizrahi & Davis, 2008, p. 279).

Based on the practice update from 2010 social workers in the child welfare field use strength based theory to help youth aging out of foster care. One point that was in the practice update is that the social worker is able to see strengths of the child and help them to see those strengths to set goals for their future (Torrico, 2010). It is very important for these youth to hear other people acknowledge their strengths.

Acknowledging the strengths of these youth correlates with the “stimulation theories that are essential for human well-being” (Hutchison, 2013, 218). The simulation theory focuses on adding stimuli that can influence how a person thinks or views a particular thing (Hutchison, 2013). Such as by using the strengths to stimulate the youth they may change their perspectives on what they can do in their adult life (Hutchison,