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. These kids have to …show more content…
For instance, in many cases, the social work does not inform the foster parent about medical conditions and fail to prepare them for the child’s medical needs. In one of the cases in young children and foster care, the child had many risk factors associated with exposure to human immunodeficiency virus, however, this was not mentioned till the day the foster parents took him to the doctor. This is dangerous for the people around the child and the child because both are at risk of getting a virus. If the social worker had taken the time to tell the parents about the child’s medical condition, it would have been better. Additionally, the foster parent cannot take foster kids to another pediatrician to get a second opinion. In another case, the foster parent who had some experience in the medical field thought that the foster kid had allergies and she took him to the child’s pediatrician, and he told her that it was something else, therefore, she could not see an allergist. She called the social worker, and he told her that she had no choice other than to do what the pediatrician said. As a result, she had to give chest physical therapy every night so the kid could sleep. Also, foster parents are responsible for the child’s well-being, but often situation comes up where it is required foster parents to stand by helplessly. In cases such as …show more content…
Neglected children are more likely to have medical problems than children who have been physically or sexually abusing. For instance, in young children and foster care, there is a case where the police raid on a crack house which the adults fled and abandoned two children. They were placed in an emergency children’s shelter, and two weeks later they identified them. After the pediatrician had read their medical records, they learn that both of the children have been exposing to cocaine, hepatitis B exposure, and congenital syphilis which was treated in the newborn nursery. Many teens in the system abuse substances to cope with their trauma especially alcohol and cannabis. Many use it for to cope with been sexually and physically abuse and other use it for depression among other things. Since they abuse drugs, they also have unsafe sexual relations, which puts them at a higher risk of getting pregnant and getting STDs such as HIV, hepatitis,
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.
Foster care is one of the oldest social systems, its official implementation dating back to 1909, when the federal government officially suggested that foster homes were the best way to care for children, as opposed to the former system of orphanages and orphan trains. Foster care began as a voluntary way for parents to ensure their children could live a better life, but has since become a largely involuntary way to remove a child from a potentially dangerous situation (Rosenfield et al., 1997). Social workers predate this system, first appearing within the first Charity Organization as “friendly visitors” in 1877 (Segal, 2020). Social workers and foster care have long been intertwined, but social policy dictates much of what the foster care
Protecting the child and provide an opportunity in which they will live a close to normal life is the goal. But with so many children in foster care and so little workers, children can be over looked. How can a child live in foster care their whole life? “It has been long stated and strongly held belief that foster care must not be a way of life for children, but rather that it is intended as a short-term treatment measure which, for the children’s welfare, must eventuate in their return to their parents or in legal adoption” (Kline,1972,p.51). Children eventually need to be put into long term, permanent homes.
To inaugurate, the biggest issue with foster care is the inadequate placement of children in the system. Children are placed into homes based on cases of availability and not what their unique needs call for. Patricia George states,
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
I believe the foster care system should be changed for the better of the foster child. The system as many foster kids will say is messed up, and in fact I totally agree. The child feels that if he/she spoke up about what was going on in their “home” whether it 's abuse or other reasons they will be located right back into another home where this can just possibly happen again. The last thing any of these children is abuse and more relocation. Most of these kids just strive to be happy and in a forever home that they want to live in.
Advocates of foster care programs are declaring that the need for foster parents is greatly needed. In New Orleans alone there was a ten percent decrease in foster families. In addition, children needing to find a temporary home has increased. Some obstacles affect the outcome of this system, but not many people would guess that environment changes the situation drastically.
Despite the dark light put on the foster care system, it is clear that the Foster Care Bill of Rights is necessary in order to ensure the childrens? safety and inform them of the rights that they have. It is guaranteed that the children within the system have already had a difficult life thus far, so they must be cared for as much as possible. Even though it is unavoidable that the child will struggle with their own mental difficulties, this act does the best work possible to help the children through this tough journey. Foster care has a bad reputation due to the abuse
For instance emotional disturbance, specific learning disabilities and autism (Hill, 2009). When a social worker takes a child into custody that child has just became a child of the state or some would say basically their child and responsibility. That leaves the social worker taking that child to doctor appointments and make sure the child is in a foster home that is taking care of the child’s need. The funding for this policy comes from the federal government, state systems, and local systems (A legacy training module from NICHCY, 2014). Most children that are in the system are supplied with Medicaid, and sometimes receives a check from the government if they are physically disabled or
Have you ever thought about how it feels to be ripped out of the only place that you know as home? To get no explanation of why your parents just did not want you anymore? Not a lot of people think about this. Usually, the only people that do think about this is children that are experiencing or have experienced this problem. The children’s rights website stated that, “On any given day, there are nearly 428,000 children in foster care in the United States.”
a. Foster parents can have an impact on the lives of a foster child by giving them a safe place to stay where they can feel loved and cared for. Foster parents can also provide the love and support that these children need especially if they came from an abused or neglected home. According to (Hasenecz, 2009) there have been several shocking stories about children being abused and neglected while in foster care or even worse reports of social workers who knew of the abuse and neglect and failed to report it or do anything about
Sadly, they usually are more unfortunate than lucky. Treating foster kids poorly and placing them in bad homes just to get your job done is not okay. The foster care system is failing kids badly, because they are more emotional, scared, and most have developmental issues because of what they have been through. According to many authors the statement about foster care systems failing is true.
This source informs me about how the foster care system needs to evaluate the techniques foster parents use when bringing a new child into their home. This is very helpful because I am arguing that there are different sections of the system that need to be adjusted. Stone, Katie J., and Yo Jackson. "
Fifty percent of all youth who aged out were involved in substance use and 17% of the females were pregnant (http://ccainstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=25&layout=blog&Itemid=43). In the U.S. 397,122 children are living without permanent families in the foster care system. 101,666 of these children are eligible for adoption, but nearly 32% of these children will wait over three years in foster care before being adopted (AFCARS report, No. 20). Pulling a child out of their home to place them in a foster care service with these types of statistics is unsettling. How would any of these findings promote the “best interests of the
One in four foster children report physical or psychological abuse by a foster parent every year. Children with disabilities or a past of abuse are at higher risk for maltreatment in their out-of-home-care (Font, 2015). The young child is at the greatest risk for disturbances in the developing brain if their environment lacks stimulating activities that are needed for physical, emotional, and behavioral growth.