Foster Care Case Study

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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. Women who are incarcerated struggle to meet the steps of the system because they are not provided the resources they need in order to accomplish the steps. Case …show more content…

They are thrown into a category with all other parents who have had their child or children placed in the foster care system for reasons other that incarceration. This article shows shows how incarcerated mothers are expected to be able to achieve the same steps to rehabilitation as ‘free’ mothers—which is unrealistic. The time frame used is also unfair to incarcerated mothers because sentencing times are often longer then the system is set up for. Parents are required to attend court dates that are twelve months apart from each other and within these twelve months the mother is expected to be able to care for the child or children otherwise her rights as a parent will be terminated. Realistically, a mother that is incarcerated will not be able to have everything sorted within twelve months; therefore, a system other than the foster care systems needs to be put in place for this type of …show more content…

In order to solve this issue, a new system for long term care must be created. People who take on responsibility of the child will be required to care for them until incarcerated mothers, or fathers, are released from jail. At this point the caregiver will have to give up all parental rights they have assumed over the year of the parent being in prison. During the time of providing care for the child, caregiver will be required to take the child weekly to visit with the incarcerated parent. Maintaining contact with biological parents is essential in keeping a bond between the child and parent thus the care system must provide the means for this to happen. The role of the caregiver is made clear at the time they receives the child and that it is a temporary arrangement with the intent of rehabilitation between the parent and child being the terminal

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