Through previous studies conducted, the findings “reflect both insufficiencies in the foster care system and in insufficiencies in parenting and education youth bring into foster care (Scannapieco et al., 2007, pg 425).” As a result of children being placed in care most of their childhood, the findings of the empirical research must be viewed with caution. Such findings included that teens in fact have “significant difficulties transitioning into independent living and self sufficiency (Scannapieco et al., 2007, pg 425).” When it comes to education, compared to that of their peers, youth in foster care are drastically behind. A small percentage of youth exit foster care having just graduated from high school.
As it stands, the foster system seeks to achieve these goals, but it falls short in many ways. Alumni of the foster care system are more likely to develop mental and physical health issues (Kessler et al., 2008). A factor in this fact is the lack of support that alumni receive once they have aged out of the system. The age adults are able to leave the foster care system is 18 in some states and 21 in others. However, these former foster children are typically not given adequate support once they have aged out, and are mostly not prepared with resources and information for life on their own, outside of the child welfare system.
Brenda's foster mother is concerned about Brenda's physical safety and the safety of others around Brenda. Brenda has been aggressive towards her younger brother and has verbalized homicidal thoughts towards him. During the interview Brenda recalled a time where she choked her brother because she was angry that he was staring at her. Referral noted that Brenda threatened to kill herself by cutting her throat. Brenda's foster mother is concerned with Brenda putting herself in harms way when she runs away.
Danielle Jackson Carlton - 5 English 11 1 March 2018 The Broken System we call Foster Care Yes foster care is an essential system used to provide loving homes to children, but unfortunately these systems have become broken and can no longer keep kids safe under their care. Everyday children are being placed in foster homes facing abuse, unloving parents, and even death. The system has only progressively gotten worse leaving behind children traumatized to a point where no amount of love or therapy can fix them.
Foster Children in Quebec’s Foster Care In 2013, Quebec social workers had 80540 reports of abuse for the whole Quebec children population, of which 31948 were investigated. Some reports did not fall under the category of abuse or neglect and consequently did not require an intervention. Conversely, there are issues with foster care which are getting worse and hurting the children in care.
Life skills should be taught to the children in preparation for the future. Foster care is meant to normalize the child’s life as much as possible and give help where it is needed. Although the intent of the foster care system is protecting neglected children, it may be causing
A protective factor for youth as they approach aging out of care is establishing a social support system (McDonald, 2013). Youth in foster care need mentors in their lives. Research indicates and I quote, “The consistent, enduring presence of a caring adult in a young person’s life can be the difference between staying in school or dropping out, making healthy decisions or engaging in risky behaviors, and realizing one’s potential or failing to achieve one’s dreams.” (Bruce, & Bridgeland, 2014) “Mentors can make a profound difference in the lives of their mentees, which can ultimately strengthen our communities, economy, and country.” (Bruce, & Bridgeland, 2014)
Gustavsson discuss the cause and effects of permanency placement for children and youth could lead to instability in the foster homes. The article has shown that “youth who exit care to a legal permanent relationship do better than those who emancipate” (Stott and Gustavsson, 2009, p. 623). In the emancipation stage (aging out) Arizona foster care system lead to risk factors. Not gaining legal placement jeopardized how a child interaction in a relationship setting towards authoritative figures just show a lack of trust the child had due to the child’s situation. Understanding that Arizona success of placement was guaranteed but it brought forth the question of instability of the permanency planning and how it resulted instability of the youth
Common misconceptions associated with being in foster care portray youth in the system as orphans. Youth in foster care are supposedly delinquents, and will perform poorly in academics compared to their peers who are not placed in these institutions. In society, these stereotypes are often pretended, but very little people understand the circumstances and factors the youth in the foster care system are facing. Youth in care are often juxtaposed to their community counterparts, to signify the impact of being a ward of the state, rather than being with a family member.
Our foster care system was developed in the 19 century, and it all started with Charles Loring Brace taking in homeless children. The system has come a long way since it started by passing laws, such as the child abuse prevention and treatment act, that protect children, and among another things, however, it still has problems. Some of the major issues they have are children placements, preparing them for adulthood, the rules and regulations with the foster parents, and drug abuse among teens in foster care. Child welfare promises these kids a place to call home, to be loved, supported and cherished, as every child should. Some of these kids go from foster home to another one, which affects them in their development.
Buncombe County, N.C. – Currently, there are 10,000 children in foster care in North Carolina. There are around 300 children in foster care in Buncombe County alone. The number of children coming into care has remained mostly the same over the past 5 years, while the number of foster homes has declined. To help increase the number of people interested in fostering, child placing agencies from across the region are holding a recruitment event, United for Foster Care WNC, at Asheville Outlets on May 6th from 11am – 4pm.
“Housing and Social Support for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: State of the Research Literature and Directions for Future Inquiry.” By Susanna R. Curry and Laura S. Abrams. In this article, the authors focus on the stability and placements of youth aging out of foster care. Curry and Abrams tell us the challenges foster care youth face, such as accessing and maintaining affordable and safe housing. They compare their adulthood with a normal teenager transition to adulthood with more support available, the foster youth face many challenges that make it hard to have a positive outcome.
Many people don’t realize how different their life could be with just one small change; they could have been fostered. Being fostered has a big effect on children because they don’t learn the same skills we do. Some of the fostered children may get lucky and find a home that would help teach them the different skill set they may need to succeed, but not all of the children are that lucky. Some children who don’t get that luxury and skill set are left at in the system until they become too old or they get emancipated. The number of children in foster care has grown to over half a million, as of 2003; though in 1980 there were only about three hundred thousand children in foster care (Shirk & Strangler 2006).
Social Problem This article looks at the failure of support that incarcerated mothers receive in order to try and save family ties. Women who are incarcerated result in their child or children being taken into the care of the foster system. This system is meant to deal with children who need temporary care, but in this case is being used for children who need to be cared for long periods of time—specifically, more than a couple years. Because of the extended period of time that these children are in the system the two goals of foster care are being failed; reunification and permanency.
Without this attachment, children can often experience varying emotional, social, and behavioral effects. In contrast to children placed in institutional care, those who were formerly in foster care “had a higher percentage of secure attachment representations and a lower percentage of insecure representations” (Nowacki & Schoelmerich, 2010, p. 556). Another study had also found a correlation between the presence of social support mental health in youth who are aging out of foster care and who were victims of maltreatment. The youths who were perceived to have higher levels of social support showed fewer symptoms of depression (Salazar, Keller & Courtney, 2011). In addition, research has examined the adult outcomes of children in foster with at least one mentoring relationship.
