The articles main focus is to examine older youth within the foster care system and their reaction to psychological instability. The different stages of growth throughout the child/children life and what might have been the trigger to offset a change. A lot of mental disabilities are cause from a combination of dramatic factors (sexual assault, abandonment as a child, neglect) drugs, and/or alcohol.
The method in which was used to gather data was Diagnostic interview Schedule for DSM-IV. DSM-IV: Codes that are identified as psychosocial stressors and Environmental Problems. Those who conducted the interview were individuals who obtain a Bachelor’s degree in social science. In this interview various factors where identify gender, race, and
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What I am looking for is to see whether or not the methods that are in place currently are either helping or harming youth throughout the foster care system to where they cannot have a successful adulthood. It is also shown in this article that life traumas and psycho-social stressors tend to trigger long term mental instability.
In the ranking this article usefulness toward my topic is a 1. The key terms of abuse, neglect, psycho-social, are important when talking about foster care. In representation of articles like this for foster care has made individuals aware of their adaption to society’s practices of “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule. That has changed the laws that are in place to result in harsher punishment if one was to harm, abused, and/or neglect a child/children. Law in everyday life of this topic enhancing the awareness of foster care in every level of the child/children lives from home, school, church, medical, law,
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.
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.
Foster Youth books often expand on the complexity of psychosocial transformations and trials and tribulations children face in the process of being placed in foster care system, but authors do not incorporate testimonials from the youth. An example of such book is called To the End of June, in which the Cris Bream sheds light on the foster care policies and the meaning of family without expanding on the life history of foster children. In order to be able to understand one of the most vulnerable members within society, foster youth, it is important to have contextual evidence, such as personal testimonies from the youth. Yes, it is significant to understand the statistics and policies that play a role in the foster youth community, but it is vital for stories to be shared in order to humanize the group.
Laura Finley states, “Indeed, restoration of the family is achieved in over half the cases of foster care, according to federal statistics. Where this is not possible, permanent adoption is the goal with about twenty percent of foster children. Other children are simply waiting until emancipation…” (Jacobs and Finley). The issue with this view on the foster care system is that its completely sugar coated.
The low expectations placed on foster kids leads to lower graduation rates for those aging out of custody because most foster children do not have a supportive adult to keep them in line when they get tired of school. The lack of stability already puts foster kids at a disadvantage and leaves gaps in learning and development that are omnipresent in their lives. The instability that marked Pelzer’s teenage years made it difficult for him to continuously readjust, and he felt that every time he adjusted to a new environment, “something happened” (Pelzer
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
The foster care systems has and will always be a part of society. The idea of a foster care system has always been around, even if it was not properly attained in the past. There has also been other methods to try to find placement for children with no or bad homes, for example the orphanage train, living with widows or living house to house in a community. Now in today’s time, we have an organized system of foster care with two different types of homes for children. For example we have group homes, which is a care facility that houses six or more children at a time.
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.
The foster care system has been around since the 1900s and has impacted millions of children’s lives. Since its creation, the system has rapidly grown and has had to receive outside aid to support the increasing number of children entering foster care. Although the foster care system has positive intentions, it has negatively impacted hundreds of children's lives, broken apart families, and has proven to have discrimination factors. There are over 500,000 children in foster care in the United States, most of whom have been victims of abuse and neglect. The circumstances have not let these children experience a stable and supportive environment during their early years of life.
Tie to the audience: Some of the children that are in foster care might be related to you or the child could be someone that you know like a friend’s child. C. Thesis and Preview: Consequently, we need to do something to make adoption easier and better not only in the United States, but all over the world. Today I will give you a few solutions to fix the foster care system. I’ll begin by telling you about the need to improve foster care. II.
In addition to the maltreatment of children in foster care, another issue that arises is that children are moved from one foster care home to another on an average of every six weeks (NCANDS, 2012). With the changes in the caregivers of children in foster care experience, the more likely they are to exhibit oppositional behavior, crying, and clinging. With that being said, in 2012, 23,396 youth aged out of the U.S. foster care system without the emotional and financial support necessary to succeed. Nearly 40% had been homeless or couch surfed, nearly 60% of young men had been convicted of a crime, and only 48% were employed. Seventy-five percent of women and 33% of men receive government benefits to meet basic needs.
According to a Child Protective Investigation, there are approximately half a million children in the U.S. foster care system, otherwise known as congregate care (group homes and institutions). Children are placed in congregate care when they are found to be in an unsafe environment. Usually children of abuse or maltreatment are placed first (Font, 2015). Out-of-home-care causes increased problems of attachment, behavioral, and psychological disorders in the developing child. Child safety is the primary goal of out-of-home-care; however, maltreatment investigations are still reported in those institutions.
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.