There has always been a way for children to be cared for in the United States. In the early 1800s orphan asylums was the most popular way for homeless children to be taken care of. Then institutional care came around, where children were taught to grow up as quickly as possible. Placing-out was then created in the 1850s to use instead of the institutions. This form of foster care sent children to the western states to live in rural homes. Soon after boarding out became favored over placing-out. This was where private agencies started making payments to families to foster the kids nearby. “Over the course of the twentieth century, boarding out developed into the modem family foster care system”(Hasci 162). This made it so special needs children or children who were difficult to live with had a chance.
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
Foster Care is one of the major issues still faced in this world today. According to Crosson-Tower (2010), in the early 1800s, boarding homes were instituted with the idea of rescuing “good” children from ‘bad” parents. The study notes the idea of paying for foster homes to house children was renounced in view of agencies advocating foster care argued that it will lead foster homes to take children for money rather than out of altruism. However, the practice of paying for foster care emerged and the government became involved regulating and administering the foster care system in the twentieth century (Crosson-Tower, 2013). Her research indicates foster care became progressively more common as the form of caring where the parents were unable
We all end up lucky or unfortunate. We get lucky with the parents that love and care for us, and unfortunate with the ones who do not want us, or don’t care for us. For foster kids, they go through several houses with several different families. Sometimes these families are not the ideal family, and there is abuse and neglect in these homes. Foster kids never really get a break until they are adopted by a loving family. 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.
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
There has always been a way for children to be cared for in the United States. In the early 1800s orphan asylums were the most popular way for homeless children to be taken care of. Then institutional care came around, where children were taught to grow up as quickly as possible. Placing-out was then created in the 1850s to use instead of the institutions. This form of foster care sent children to the western states to live in rural homes. Soon after, child placement became favored over placing-out. This was where private agencies started making payments to families to foster the kids nearby. “Over the course of the twentieth century, boarding out developed into the modem family foster care system”(Hasci 162). This made it so special needs
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
As a CASA volunteer, my mom works with neglected, abused, or foster care children alongside their legal aid and the court system. CASA volunteers make sure children do not get lost in the foster care or court system and advocates what is best for the child after spending a lot of time with the child and the other adults present in their life. CASA volunteers are often the one stable adult a child can have in their life. My mom would spend hours a week working to help each kid, whether it just be as simple as taking them to lunch or going to court to speak on the child’s behalf. All of the children were in foster or group homes looking for a stable home. 600,000 children in the US go through the foster system each year. Those are children who were neglected, abused, or orphaned. The foster care system still has its flaws and many children do fall through the cracks. The number of children in the foster care system could continue to increase if abortion in made illegal in the
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
Like I said before, foster care is the temporary placement of a child in a new home. To be a foster parent, you have to go through a lot of training. If you are ten years or older, you have to get a background check. They do this so they can figure out what kind of person you have been and if you are fit to be a foster parent. In your background check, you should include a criminal history search, information contained by a health care provider, information about your credentials, information maintained showing that you have never neglected or abused a child, information regarding any denial to the person of a license, and information to see if the person is guilty of committing a sex offense or serious crime. In the foster care system, they are VERY picky. There are 22 grounds for disqualification that can 't happen in a matter of five year prior to applying for a foster child. Although it is a long and exhausting process, it is all worth it when you know that your foster child is in a safe
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
Foster care was not meant to be a permanent solution for these children. It was not developed to traumatize or negatively impact the outcome for the children place in the system. Creating more individualized care and better systematic tracking of these children will help provide better emotional and mental support. If this is implemented then it will greatly increase the chances of a system that was created to help, become more
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.