Minors In Foster Care Essay

They Cage the Animals at Night is a book written by Jennings Michael Burch in 1985.The book was based on true events that occurred in his life during the late 1940’s and early1950’s. Burch described the hardship of his life from staying at foster institutions and foster homes. They Cage the Animals at Night was not only a depiction of Jennings Burch’s life, but it also showed the way children had to face physical and emotional abuse in the foster care system. A large portion of the book revealed and described the rigorousness that Jennings faced alone. His experience of emotional and physical abuse exposed how children were treated like prisoners. This book raised awareness to authorities on the kind of treatment happening and proposed a change for foster institutions and homes to be monitored.

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. Restoration of original families in foster care is not always an accessible choice. For example, if a child is in foster care because their parent is sick, restoration is easy but in other cases when a parent is addicted to hard drugs and shooting up heroine everyday, it's not quite as “simple” as they are making it sound. Also, this quote mentions the other half of children stuck in group homes waiting to age out of the system when they turn eighteen. The drawback with this is aging out of the system is in no way a happy or ideal situation. When these used to be children, now adults, age out of the system they are left on their own with no family for the rest of their lives. They are completely alone and have no support system or anyone to fall back on if they need

According to Crosson-Tower (2010), children enter foster care for causes such as but not limited to physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment, domestic violence, substance abuse, and physical or mental illness of parents. In addition, she states that the death of parents can cause a child to enter foster care if no available relatives could undertake their care. Many of these causes of child maltreatment may also come from parents who are poor, uneducated, and experienced childhood trauma (Crosson-Tower, 2010). Therefore, the cycle of child abuse and neglect will continue if not provided the necessary services to prevent and treat the

Most children’s first words are “Mama” or “Dada.” So what happens to the children who are ripped from their homes, from the only life they have known? The foster care system has been taking children from their homes since 1912, but has it really done any good? Sadly, “40 percetn of these children put into out-of-home care facilities never return to their parents. More than half will be away for at least a year and the majority will have multiple placements, some in as many as 15 different homes” (Horrors of the Non Home). Is what the foster care system is doing really helping these children or are they just setting them up for failure? Although many people feel that the foster care system is the best solution, many nationwide organizations feel that family preservation efforts are more necessary for today’s society.

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. In the hopes that they will grow up and know unconditionally

Studies have shown that thirty percent of children in foster care remain in care for more than two years. The longer children stay in care the more placements they are likely to experience. More than half the children who enter the foster care system will be moved to a different home in their first six months. It is also found that children care for more than two years will experience about three different placements. Nearly all of the moves have nothing to do with bettering the well being of the child. Many of the placements are done to carry out the systems policies and other placements are done if foster parents don’t meet the child needs. Children are less likely to be moved many times if a foster family is prepared to meet the child 's challenging needs. The foster care system is also in need of more social workers that will ensure that the child is placed in a good family so that they are not moved several times. Plenty of placements are also done if the child is initially placed in short-term care but needs to be moved to long term. However, the more changes a child experiences decreases the chance of them returning home or being adopted. There are many children that are stuck in the foster care system because they do not have a biological family or an adoptive

The foster care system is setup to provide needs and protect children who have been neglected or abused. The main goal of the system is to take the children out of dangerous homes, and relocate them to a safe home, and to hopefully reunite the children with their biological families. While they are in foster care, their life should be greatly improved. Help should be given to those who are struggling with mental and emotional disabilities. 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

Foster care is full-time substitute care of children outside of their home by people other than their biological, adoptive, or legal guardians. Children are removed from their own homes and placed in foster care in a variety of reasons. Foster homes fulfill an essential social need by providing for the physical health, emotional well-being, and daily care of children who, for various reasons, have been separated from their parents. This is what foster care is supposed to be about helping children in need. In this day in age in you ask someone about foster they only see what on tv. Foster care on tv is portraited as horrible people only wanting money, human punching bag or worst but no one shows the good that comes out of being a foster child

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

The foster care system shatters like broken glass and there is no repair for broken glass. Permanent damage can only be fixed with drastic solutions, redesigning the system is the method to follow. Foster parents go through hardships and trials while trying to adopt children. Children need stability and the parents willing to give them that they cannot be with forever. A reason for a shattered system is the result of a shattered admissions process. There are no various perspectives within the admissions decisions or after. Moreover, becoming a foster parent is too simple. Basic background checks and home visits are not enough for today’s society. Taking a natural parent's right away directly when their children are taken away is a solution.

Foster care was put into effect to help children out of dangerous situations. The main goal of foster care was only meant to be a temporary placement for children. This allows the parents to receive the help they need to make their home an ideal environment for the child or children. The foster system fails to provide adequate support for children in its care. If the foster system could recognize the issues it faces, perhaps it would be able to operate more efficiently. Perhaps one solution to this problem is to provide a transitioning program and offer counseling sessions to better support mental health and emotional stability.

Foster care is a system in which a child under the age of eighteen, is placed in a temporary home away from one’s parents due to physical or mental neglect. Children from as young as a few days old to teenage years are placed in foster care every day. The amount of children in the system affect how needs are met and how high these youths are placed on a need of special care for problems that were developed before and while in the system. Most of which occur because they are abused and that is why they were taken away. Foster care is an escape for those being mistreated. It gives a chance to do things that maybe would not be possible if stuck in the situation that originally caused such problems. Foster

On November 18, 1999, the House of Representatives passed the H.R.3443, which is The Foster Care Act of 1999. This was signed into law by former President, Bill Clinton. The Foster Care Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-169) is there to help the many young adults who age out of the foster care system and have nowhere to go and no family to rely on (Social Security, 2015). With so many young adults aging out of the foster care system, there has to be a solution as to what they do next.

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.