As of the late 90s, over 50% of children in the system are placed in the home of a relative, which has proved to have beneficial results compared to an unknown foster home (Rosenfield et al., 1997). According to Altshuler and Gleeson (1999), the child welfare system has two main goals: permanency and safety. Encompassed in these goals are the jobs and life's work of hundreds of social workers. Permanency implies a longstanding place of residence for children, whether this be through reunification or adoption by a foster family. Safety being a priority reveals the unfortunate truth that sometimes, the child’s biological family will not be the right option for the child.
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.
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.
I believe the foster care system should be changed for the better of the foster child. The system as many foster kids will say is messed up, and in fact I totally agree. The child feels that if he/she spoke up about what was going on in their “home” whether it 's abuse or other reasons they will be located right back into another home where this can just possibly happen again. The last thing any of these children is abuse and more relocation. Most of these kids just strive to be happy and in a forever home that they want to live in.
In her article "Providing Therapy to Children and Families in Foster Care: A Systemic-Relational Approach," Catherine Lewis explores the benefits of a systemic-relational approach to therapy for children and families in the foster care system. Lewis has worked in the foster care system as a caseworker and caseworker supervisor for over 15 years as well as a family therapist. A systemic-relational approach considers the complex and often challenging dynamics that exist within the foster care system and works to address these issues collaboratively and holistically (Lewis 438). Through this approach, Lewis argues that therapists can help foster children and families build stronger relationships, develop greater resilience, and navigate the many challenges and transitions that come with life in the foster care system by “establishing a working relationship with the parents, holding a maintaining the relational stance” (Lewis 446). Ultimately, this can lead to improved mental health and well-being for foster children, and a greater likelihood of successful outcomes both during and after their time in foster care.
Another way to improve the foster system is to have background checks, making sure that the people they hire, and foster parents aren’t abusive and horrible to the kids. The background checks for foster parents or caretakers could save abuse for the kids, and maybe even death, they can help determine whether or not if this is a person they want the kids around. This is shown in an article named, “U.S. Foster Care a Flawed Solution that leads to more Long-Term Problems”, they explain the lives of kids who have experienced awful people they were sent to live with. The author wrote, “Removed from the home of a mentally ill parent… Within months, the mother’s condition deteriorated and the child was killed,” (Stone, 2014).
Advocates of foster care programs are declaring that the need for foster parents is greatly needed. In New Orleans alone there was a ten percent decrease in foster families. In addition, children needing to find a temporary home has increased. Some obstacles affect the outcome of this system, but not many people would guess that environment changes the situation drastically.
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.
Have you ever thought about how it feels to be ripped out of the only place that you know as home? To get no explanation of why your parents just did not want you anymore? Not a lot of people think about this. Usually, the only people that do think about this is children that are experiencing or have experienced this problem. The children’s rights website stated that, “On any given day, there are nearly 428,000 children in foster care in the United States.”
In 2014 there were 650,000 kids in foster care, that’s almost twice as much as Kansas City’s population of 467,007. Roughly 58,000 of these children were placed in an institution or group home instead of a traditional foster home. While these children will age out of the system 40% of them will find themselves homeless, 50% will have substance addiction, 25% will have not received a diploma or GED, only 3% will have received any college degrees and 17% of the young women will be pregnant. Even before they are blessed with their so called “independence” the average child in foster care will have an IQ 20 points lower than a child not in foster care and 33% of them will have moved elementary schools more than 5 times. The foster care system in
If anti abortion laws in the United States follow through, there will be flooding in foster homes, and it will eventually lead to an increase of allegations from foster homes. The lack of staffing for foster homes also has a factor in the housing and the well-being of youth under the age of eighteen. The toll that these allegations take on the children in question is unacceptable and should never be taken lightly. The government is not taking these problems seriously.
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.
a. 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
Literature Review Throughout the years, research has been conducted on the effects that foster care can have on children. In the United States alone, there are roughly 670,000 children who have spent time in the foster care system each year (“Foster Care,” 2017). Of those children, approximately 33% of them age out of foster care system. Studies then show that the foster care system has had varying effects on the children who are/have been a part of it. In many cases, studies have noted the effects of attachment for children in foster care.
It also builds a strong emotional bond between the foster parents and the children; likewise, visibly benefiting both parties in the process. The state also provides compensation to the foster families. There are some disadvantages also. First, both foster parents/family and children undergo the pain of separation, once and if a child is reunited to his family of origin. The stipend for foster parents is not enough to provide for the overall needs of the child.
