Foster Care Essay

The child welfare system aims to protect children thought to be abused and neglected by their parents. Over 2 million children are investigated for child abuse and neglect each year in the U.S., and roughly half are found to have been abused. Approximately 10 percent of these abused children will be placed in protective custody known as foster care.
Foster care is meant for the purpose of a temporary household for a child in the system, though some stay for an average of 2 years. There are currently over 500,000 children in foster care (US Dept of Health and Human Services, 2005). About 60 percent of foster children return home and 15 percent are adopted. The remainders of children become too old to remain in the system and are sent out (Fred

Child welfare agencies should adopt these guidelines as a starting point for ensuring that children in foster care receive the health and educational supports they need.
Further, foster care policy directly targets children who appear to be at high risk of poor life outcomes. It is unfortunate that in our society some children grow up without the opportunity of having a loving family to raise them. More unimaginable are children growing up with parents and/or other family members that are

Stability in family settings also provides connection in school settings, peer networks, heath care providers, and access to community resources and activities. Children who enter foster care have been exposed to family instability and to unpleasant experiences that increase their risk for inadequate outcomes. So, terms of a stable family environment that promotes well-being may help to remodel some of the consequences of family instability and adversity and change poor developmental