Category: Adoption

Intro

Delinquency among adolescent females in foster care is an issue that has been analyzed and looked into for many years. From the years 2009-2013, adolescent youth ages 12-17 compromised about 38% of the 402,378 overall youth in foster care nationwide, with adolescent females accounting for 30% of juvenile arrests ( Lind & Sheldon, 2014, p. 2; Sarri, Stoffregen and Ryan, 2016, p. 191). Some of the risk factors that lead to delinquency amongst this population are substance use, mental health concerns, negative peer relationships, and socioeconomically disadvantaged families. (Agnew et al., 2010; Wong , Slotboom and Bijleveld,2010). Studies such as the Casey Field Office Mental Health Study have shown that adolescents living in foster care have shown high rates for conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, also known as ODD. (Kim & Leve 2011, p. 741)

Knowledge about delinquency among female adolescents in foster care is important for social work practice because it can inform one to be aware of the underlying issues that may lead to a child acting out. Although males are often characterized by the stigma of being delinquents, their female counterparts have also increased in their participation in such negative activities. 50% of all females arrested or involved in delinquent behaviors are arrested for larceny-theft, often shoplifting, and running away from home ( Lind & Sheldon, 2014, p.3).

This topic is important because social workers should be familiar with the different signs of neglect, and mental health issues that can lead one, particularly adolescent females, to act out in negative behaviors. Youth offenders often times come from broken families facing issues of poverty and substance abuse, or they may be already involved with child welfare services. Social workers should be familiar with these different types of adversities so that they can better assist delinquent youth with the proper rehabilitative measures. When working with the adolescent female population, it is also important for social workers to be aware of the difficulties that many of these young girls may face even in the foster care setting such as sexual abuse, maltreatment, and neglect. Such topics can be very sensitive for young girls and as social workers, it is important to be mindful of all possible triggers.

Definitions

Delinquency is defined by the United States Department Of Justice as “the violation of a law of the United States committed by a person prior to his eighteenth birthday” ( United States DOJ, 2019). Merriam Webster notes adolescence as “ the period of life when a child develops into an adult” (Adolescence, 2019. Adolescence is best recognized as the teenage years of one’s developmental period. Therefore, adolescent delinquency is the criminal or illegal acts of unlawful doing committed by a person 18 or younger. The onset of early delinquent behaviors can lead to academic failure, substance use, risky sexual behaviors, and when unmonitored or controlled delinquency can lead to violent crimes and incarceration (Ryzin and Leve, 2012, p.588). Within the child welfare system or foster care, delinquency among adolescent females is prevalent in the forms of running away and participating in substance use.

Adolescent Females And Running Away From Placement

There are many factors that can influence an adolescent’s decision to run away such as, peer influences, their quality of care, and their relationships with the staff and their living situation. For many of these adolescents, running away becomes a means of coping with rules and problems faced within their placement, a response to bad news about their neighborhood or family, or the result of negative peer pressures (Lind & Sheldon, 2014, p.192; Sarri, Stoffregen and Ryan, 2016, p. 191). Research has also shown that adolescent females who are habitual runaways display significant levels of sexual and physical victimization. This repeated behavior can indicate that these young girls may be running away from pressures and victimizations like trafficking by adults in the sex industry such as prostitution, and drug use. Adolescent females are also forced to engage in these behaviors due to survival sex in exchange for food, shelter, protection, and money. Involvement in such activities at a young age can increase the development of mental health concerns as well (Agnew et al., 2010, p. 3; Lind & Sheldon, 2014, p.192 ; Sarri, Stoffregen and Ryan, 2016, p.191). Additional risk factors of running away from a child welfare placement also include the age of first removal to out-of-home care, increased number of placements, caretaker’s inability to deal with the child’s behavior, presence or diagnosis of a mental disorder, and homelessness (Lind & Sheldon, 2014, p.192 ; Sarri, Stoffregen, and Ryan, 2016, p191).

Substance Use

Kim and Leve (2011) stated in their report, “according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, adolescents within the child welfare system and foster care have been reported to have higher rates of illicit drug use and a higher need for substance abuse treatment “( Kim and Leve, 2011,p. 741). Substance use within the adolescent population is used as a means of self-medicating and coping with problems stemming from abuse such as depression and anxiety, PTSD, dissociating themselves from painful emotions, and to blur out painful or upsetting memories. Removal from their homes and the separation from parents and other family members can also have an impact on a child’s emotional and psychological self, which can also lead to an increased risk of substance abuse and mental health problems (Thompson and Auslander, 2011 p. 38). Young girls may also resort to drug and alcohol abuse to cope with abuse from a partner, to gain approval, or to fit in with their friends (Agnew et al., 2010, p. 8). Substance use and delinquent behaviors while in foster care have often been correlated to unhealthy risky behaviors and poor outcomes such as involvement in early sexual acts, unsafe sex practices including having multiple partners or having sex while intoxicated, early pregnancies and domestic violence when dating ( Kim and Leve, 2011, p. 741).

Protective Factors For Adolescent Females In Foster Care

Some research has proposed ideas that can help alleviate the risks of delinquency among adolescent females in foster care, also known as protective factors. Protective factors are the resources, supports, strengths and coping strategies within an individual, family, or community that can help eliminate stressors and risk factors. With regard to youth running away from their placement, a beneficial protective factor would be to provide attention to education and workforce development (Sarri, Stoffregen and Ryan, 2016, p. 196). Kim and Leve (2011) note that the MSS( Middle School Success) intervention has shown that the transition to middle school can provide a window of opportunity to reduce unwanted behaviors by increasing prosocial behaviors that can lead to reduced substance use and delinquent behaviors within adolescent girls in foster care (Kim and Leve, 2011, p. 748). This intervention was designed to prevent delinquency, substance use, and related problems amongst adolescent females in foster care during their transition to middle school. Another protective factor that helps reduce the risk of delinquency within this population is positive school attachments.”Crosnoe, Erickson, and Dornbusch (2002) found that bonding with teachers protected against delinquency, even when the girls had delinquent friends.”(Agnew et al., 2010, p. 10). Positive school attachment has also been shown through studies to be an effective mediator for achievement and delinquency (Bijleveld, Slotboom, and Wong,2010, p.279)

Conclusion

The purpose of this review is to identify the causes and risk factors that contribute and lead to delinquency among adolescent females within foster care placement. This topic is relevant and important to the social work profession because this population is often overlooked and ignored. When analyzing data about adolescents within the child welfare system, most of the information is predominately based on adolescent males. Females within this population are often oppressed and are outliers within the research. This information is important for social workers to know because it is their duty to advocate for those that are often misrepresented and oppressed. Knowledge of this specific population is also important for a social worker to know so that they can better assist young females within the child welfare system that may be facing issues of substance abuse and running away. Knowledge on this topic also teaches the social worker to be mindful of possible emotional, physical, and psychological triggers that may cause an adolescent female to engage in these delinquent behaviors outside of their visible risk factors. Research on this subject has shown that some of the causes for delinquency amongst this population include substance use, mental health concerns, negative peer influences, and belonging to socioeconomically disadvantaged families. Delinquency among adolescent females in foster care is most prevalent in the forms of running away from their placements and engaging with substance use. Delinquency among adolescent females in foster care is a topic that should be taken more seriously. More research should be conducted not only on the foster care population but more specifically on female adolescents within this population. Additional research should also be conducted on adolescent female delinquency as a whole, and not done as research to compare findings that have been focused primarily on the male population.” Such studies would have to include males as well as females, so that differences in methods can be disregarded as an explanation of any sex differences ( Bijleveld, Slotboom, and Wong,2010, p. 281) This additional information can be valuable to conducting such comparative research.

Introduction

There is an assortment of ways that the youth can be pushed into juvenile and adult justice systems. Many factors may contribute to the reason why the youth eventually end up in prison. These factors include, but are not limited to, school systems and the child welfare system. In this paper, I will be focusing on the foster care system. The foster care system is broken in many ways and children can endure serious harm as a result. I will address how the foster care-to-prison pipeline operates in the United States. I will define what the foster-care-to prison pipeline is and will address who is affected by it. There are many young people in America’s foster care system that run a large risk of being imprisoned.

For this paper, I have chosen to look at specific identities that are most at risk to be affected by the foster-care-to prison pipeline. The groups I will be focusing on are youth of color, LGBTQ+ identified youth and young people who have mental illnesses. These communities are already more likely to be placed into the foster care system which means that they are also more likely to be in the justice systems at one point or another in their lives. I will cover the challenges that these youth face in the foster care system as well as in the justice systems and the negative consequences of being incarcerated as a juvenile.

I will begin by reviewing literature that I have compiled that addresses each of the identities that are more likely to be affected by the foster-care-to prison pipeline and what challenges they face. I will conclude my paper by addressing the implications of my findings and the ways that the foster care system in America can be improved upon to prevent these juveniles from being imprisoned.

Literature Review

Foster Care System in the United States

The foster care system in the United States is a temporary living arrangement where minors are placed into homes of a “foster parent” or other family members who is approved by the state. According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) report provided by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of youth that are in foster care has continued to increase in numbers with 400,394 minors in the system in 2013, 414,129 in 2014, 427,328 in 2015, 436,551 in 2016 and 442,995 in 2017. The median age of a minor in the system as of September 30, 2017, was 7.7 years of age. The median time in care was 12.9 months. The race/ethnicities that made up this system as of 2017 were 44% of the youth being White, 23% is Black or African American, 21% being Hispanic (of any race) and every other race was 7% or less. The youth that exited foster care as of 2017 was made up of 46% White, 21% Black or African American, and 21% Hispanic (of any race) while all other races were 7% or less.

Many youths in the foster care system face challenges such as mental health issues and behavioral and developmental issues. If needs are not unaddressed while these youth are in placement, many negative long-term outcomes could be the result. An article from Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care states that “both nature, genetic loading associated with parental impairment, and nurture (abandonment, parental rejection, early adversity, and resultant trauma) contribute to the high prevalence of mental health and developmental diagnoses in this population.” Some of the developmental issues that foster care youth face include cognitive impairment, social-emotional issues, language, and social communication impairment and gross and fine motor deficits. Essential health services that these youth may need, go unmet, or are not provided in a timely manner.

According to Rachel Anspach, foster care youth face a disproportionate risk of being incarcerated. Aspach states, “The problem is so severe that one-quarter of foster care alumni will become involved with the criminal justice system within two years of leaving care.” The foster care-to-prison pipeline describes what practices and policies move foster care youth from the child welfare system to the criminal justice system. This pipeline especially affects youth of color, LGBTQ-identified youth, and young people with mental illnesses. Anspach says that these are groups of youth who, “are already more likely to be in foster care and thus even more likely to be pushed into the justice systems. The discrimination in the system exacerbates these populations’ already disproportionate vulnerabilities to criminalization.” I will now go into detail about how these three groups are likely to be affected by the foster-care-to-prison pipeline.

Youth of Color

Youth of color often face more hardship in the foster care system compared to the youth who identify as white. National and local data show that youth of color experience longer stays in foster care than their white counterparts, more restrictive foster care placements, and lack of access to meaningful and relevant services, among other poor outcomes (Raimon & Weber, 2015). The United States foster care system oftentimes fails to understand and respond to the life experiences of youth of color, including race, racism, and culture. Black foster youth are some of the most vulnerable and oppressed populations. There are many systematic barriers that youth of color face in the foster care system. Many of the current policies and procedures that are in place for child welfare systems disadvantage people of color. An example of this would be that in order for a relative to become a caregiver, they have to complete and pass a criminal background check. Many of these children have relatives who have criminal records due to drug or property-related drug charges that prevent them from being chosen as caregivers. Even though these communities face excessive policing, that factor will not be considered. Other relatives may be undocumented and although they may have been the previous caretaker and are able to provide a safe place for the child, they will not be chosen.

Black children are more likely than white kids to be placed in foster care. Black kids are already subject to disproportionate rates of school discipline and criminalization, being a foster youth compound this risk. Foster youth, particularly girls, are targeted by sex traffickers, and the criminalization of sex work can funnel these victims of modern-day slavery into the criminal justice system (Anspach, 2018). In an interview with Teen Vogue, Randy, a twenty-two-year-old from the Bronx who entered into foster care when he was 10, and moved through 13 placements and three boroughs of New York City while in the system and was charged with an assault. Randy said, “I feel like since I’m just a black kid in foster care [the justice system] doesn’t want to see us given opportunities or help us grow.” Randy explained that many foster care parents like his own were ready to call 911 as fast as they could when there was a small issue, rather than trying to work through and solve the problem. Randy got into a fight with another boy in the foster home, his foster care parents immediately called 911, and Randy and the other boy, neither who were seriously injured were placed into juvenile detention for 14 months. Once a youth from foster care gets involved with the juvenile justice system, there are negative outcomes on the foster youth. This reputation and label can impact their treatment and home placements for the rest of their time in the foster care system.

LGBTQ+ Identified Youth

Youth with Mental Illnesses

The brain isn’t fully developed until you reach about 25 years of age. When you are young, your brain is still in a critical growth period and is more vulnerable to trauma. Negative environment conditions such as poor nutrition, low-quality housing and physical or emotional harm a child may go through in the foster care system may lead to mental illnesses. (Deutsch, et al., 2015) found that, “Nearly two-thirds of children in foster placement have mental and behavioral health problems, and estimates of developmental disorders range from 20% to 60%.” Some of the most common health diagnoses for the youth in foster care include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, anxiety, and depression. Anxiety symptoms (stemming from social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorders), disordered eating (anorexia and bulimia), enuresis, encopresis, mood disorders (major depression and mania), and disruptive behavioral symptoms are also common. In one study, adolescents involved in foster care were about four times more likely to have attempted suicide and 5 times more likely to receive a drug dependence diagnosis in the preceding 12 months (Deutsch, et al., 2015). If these mental illnesses are not properly addressed while the foster care youth are in the system, there is a high risk that these individuals could eventually be placed into the justice system. These youth may be prescribed the incorrect medications or they may not receive therapy and the trauma-informed care that is needed.

Since many foster care parents are not properly educated or trained on how to handle episodes due to trauma or emotional circumstance the child has faced, they may not handle it in a professional, respectful manner and one of their first instincts could be to call the police. It is known that group home staff call 911 for various reasons including verbal arguments, physical fights, throwing things, running away, smoking marijuana, or even masturbation (Anspach, 2018). According to the Office of Research and Public Affairs in the Treatment Advocacy Center, overall in the United States, approximately 20% of inmates in jails and 15% of inmates in state prisons are now estimated to have a serious mental illness. Foster care youth may be likely to spend time in jail or prison due to having a mental health crisis that was not properly handled by the system.

References

1. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/afcars-report-25
2. https://www-sciencedirect-com.mantis.csuchico.edu/science/article/pii/S1538544215001017
3. https://jlc.org/news/what-foster-care-prison-pipeline
4. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-foster-care-to-prison-pipeline-what-it-is-and-how-it-works
5. https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn-more-about/3695
6. https://cssp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Better-Outcomes-for-Older-Youth-of-Color-in-Foster-Care.pdf

Elijah Emanuel Yates is a six-year-old boy that was in foster care in Martinsburg, West Virginia for about a year. His parents were both drug addicts, and he watched them overdose multiple times. His dad also beat his mom. He was put into foster care until his mom’s rights were terminated, and an adoption family was chosen. This is the story of many kids in Hillsborough County Florida, however there are not many happy endings. Foster care is a problem in Hillsborough County Florida because of the rate of children being removed from homes, lack of adoptive and foster parents, and inadequate funding.

What is foster care and what does foster care detail? Where is Hillsborough County, Florida? Merriam Webster defines foster care as “a situation in which for a period of time a child lives with is cared for by people who are not the child’s parents” (“Foster Care”). Hillsborough County, Florida the county that contains the city of Tampa but not the Clearwater and St. Petersburg. The county stretches as far east as Plant City and west to the coast. In the state of Florida, there are about 14,000 kids in foster care, and 43% of all the kids in the Florida foster care system are in Hillsborough County (“Foster Care Statistics”). Foster parents can be temporary, temporary to permanent, or permanent. Temporary foster parents have kids that are constantly coming and going. Temporary to permanent foster a specific kid to adopt them in the future, when the parent’s rights are terminated for example. Permanent foster parents go straight into the adoption process for a kid. (American Adoptions)

How did foster care start and how has it developed over the years? In the 1750s through the 1810s, children of poor families were sent to be indentured servants under English Poor Law in colonial America. The conditions were not great, however at least the children would learn a trade to use. In 1853, Charles Loring Brace, who was a minister and the director of New York Children’s Aid Society, created a free foster care system that was not much different than the one before. The children still became indentured servants; the kids would go to the rural parts of the country and farm. Their train ride to these parts of the country was free, and they became nicknamed “orphan trains” even though most of the kids just had poor parents. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt suggested the creation of an organization to help with the foster care system and the adoption, so the legislation created the Children’s Bureau to solve that problem. It was not until 68 years later, under Jimmy Carter, that the federal government started assisting states with funding under the Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance entitlement program. (Chittom and Wagner)

Around two thousand kids were removed from their homes in 2016, the highest it has been in around ten years, because of drugs, child abuse, neglect, and mental illnesses. These numbers are up thirty percent from last year (McCowan). The kids are taken from their homes to keep them away from the hardships, however 51 percent of the kids are returned home with their biological parents (American Adoptions). The other 49 percent is taken to be put in group homes or individual foster homes, but there are too many kids in the system to house them all. The kids, who cannot find a home, are stuck with Eckerd Kids’ organization to find a place, however these kids are taken to sleep in office buildings because there is no other places for these kids to sleep (McCowan).

The drugs constantly come through the ports of Tampa, causing constant drug abuse among the kids’ parents. Methamphetamine, more commonly known as meth, is the main abused drug in the Tampa Bay area. Mexican drug traffickers have established many labs throughout Cental Florida, many of which are “mom and pop” stores that have become increasingly dangerous over the past few years. MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy, is shipped from Germany and the Netherlands into the ports of Tampa and St. Petersburg. It is also an abused drug in Hillsborough County. In the south parts of Florida, both drugs are mixed together in an 80/20 split, 80 percent is methamphetamine and 20 percent is ecstasy, in majority of the clubs you find. (Narconon)

Due to the rise in foster kids, there is a lack of temporary homes all over the state. Most people would not want to become temporary parents because of the psychological damage it has on the parents knowing that some kids are going back into a harmful situation. The process to become a long process is also a few months process before you even get to meet any foster kids. To become a foster parent, you must attend an orientation welcoming you to the world of parenting foster kids, complete 20 to 30 hours of foster care training, have a child abuse and criminal background check and, participate a home inspection and a home study to review your readiness for fostering (Florida Department of Children and Families). The goal of foster care is to put kids into a better home than where they were before, yet 28 percent of children in foster care report being abused.

In “The Foster Care System and Its Victims: Part 2”, tells the story of an adult client that Susanne Babbel calls Amy, who spent seven years in the foster care system. Amy told Susanne that “roughly nine out of ten fellow foster children she crossed paths with claimed to be abused by their foster parents”. She also explained that “foster children are taught by their circumstances not to speak up and are conditioned to think abuse is ‘normal.’” (Babbel, 2) With that being said, there is a need for more foster parents, but they need to be in the foster care system to help the kids.

The Hillsborough County area is being inadequately funded by the state and federal governments. The Children’s Bureau has been assisting states with the funding of the foster care system since its creation in 1918 (Children’s Bureau). The state of Florida has not been able to build new buildings due to funding issues or even renovate old buildings to create new group homes (McCowan). This causes foster kids to be moved too often, and it damages the kids’ mental well-being. Many of the kids do not even want to unpack their belongings because they feel like they will be moved again soon. Christopher O’Donnell and Nathaniel Lash did a study where they looked at millions of child welfare records that showed the moving of homes of a quarter of a million foster kids, about 1,500 kids moved an average of once a month for a year, 7,500 moved once a month for six months, and 2,000 placements in one month. Most of the kids moved constantly have behavior problems, so Hillsborough County needs more funding to help these kids. (Editorial: Florida’s Foster Care)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services claims that “up to 50% of former foster or probation youth end up homeless within the first year and a half of their emancipation”. In Part 3 of Babbel’s series “Foster Care System and Its Victims”, Amy, her client, states, “Something nobody mentions is that most kids… don’t graduate from school. Or, as in my case, truly the last formal schooling I had was going to 6th grade.” She goes on to say that the foster homes and group homes did not emphasize school. (Babbel, 3) The foster care system is failing a large amount of young people. Along with failing the kids in education, the foster care system molds many of the kids to have psychological problems like low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, trust issues, PTSD, personality disorders, and increases their risk for multiple psychiatric disorders that can hurt the kids just as much as no education. On top of these psychological problems, foster kids often find themselves drinking, smoking, using or even dealing drugs, and overeating. (Babbel, 3) Majority of the time, the foster parents do not know what to look for, and from the kids’ experiences, the kids are very good at hiding what they are doing from the parents.

What is the solution to this huge problem? In Hillsborough County, Eckerd’s Kids runs the foster care system (McCowan). Their goal is to safely house children and keep the kids safe while they are waiting on a permanent home. However, this organization does not get funded enough to keep all these children safe, so some of the children still come out of the system not prepared or mentally stable. The main solution to the foster care problem is to fund the system more, but the state of Florida does not have enough funds itself.

The rate of children being removed from homes, lack of adoptive and foster parents, and inadequate funding in Hillsborough County Florida has foster care to become a huge problem. There is a 30 percent increase in children being removed from their home because of drug use from their parents, child abuse, neglect, and mental illness. The amount of adoptive and foster parents does not come close to the amount needed for the increase in amount. The system is not preparing kids for the future by not giving them the education they need to succeed. 14,000 young kids are in foster care in the state of Florida; the future of America rests in the young people. However, if the young people do not get the help they need to succeed, we will already be failing in the future.

Works Cited

1. American Adoptions, Inc. “Foster Care and Adoptions in Florida.” American Adoptions – Tennessee Adoption Laws | Adoption Laws in TN, 2019, www.americanadoptions.com/florida-adoption/florida-foster-care-adoption.
2. Babbel, Susanne. “The Foster Care System and Its Victims: Part 2.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 11 Jan. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/somatic-psychology/201201/the-foster-care-system-and-its-victims-part-2.
3. Babbel, Susanne. “The Foster Care System and Its Victims Part 3.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 11 Jan. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/somatic-psychology/201201/the-foster-care-system-and-its-victims-part-3.
4. Children’s Bureau. “Adoption.” Children’s Bureau | ACF, Administration Fro Children and Families, 19 Sept. 2018, www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/focus-areas/adoption.
5. Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Geraldine Wagner. “Foster Children Programs: An Overview.” Points of View: Foster Children Programs, Mar. 2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23827497&site=pov-live.
6. “Editorial: Florida’s Foster Care System Needs Money, Attention.” Tampa Bay, Florida News, Tampa Bay Times, 4 Jan. 2019, www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-floridas-foster-care-system-needs-money-attention-20190103/.
7. Florida Department of Children and Families. “How Do I Become A Foster Parent?” Substance Abuse | Florida Department of Children and Families, 2014, www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/foster-care/how-do-I.
8. “Foster Care.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, 2019, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foster%20care.
9. “Foster Care Statistics.” Promise Foundation , 2016, www.promiselovefoundation.org/statistics.
10. McCowan, Candace. “Children Taken from Homes Because of Abuse Now Sleeping in Office Buildings.” News Channel 8, WFLA, 9 June 2016, www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/children-taken-from-homes-because-of-abuse-are-now-sleeping-in-office-buildings/1052013267.
11. Narconon Intl. “Article Factsheet.” Florida Drug Facts: Florida Factsheet, Friends of Narconon Intl, 6 Feb. 2019, www.friendsofnarconon.org/drug_distribution_in_the_united_states/florida_drug_facts/florida_factsheet/.

The teen — who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act — pleaded guilty to a raft of charges and was sentenced at Regina Youth Court this week.

Among his charges were several counts of discharging a firearm and several counts of breaking and entering and vehicle theft. The most serious of the incidents were a series of shootings. One, on June 9, involved someone shooting at the back door of an Athol Street house. Five people were inside the house at the time. A second on June 13 saw a complainant from Ranch Ehrlo call police in the early morning to report a bullet hole in the front door’s window. Again, people were inside at the time: two workers and 10 kids. Then on June 14, police patrolling in the area of Garnet Street and 6th Avenue heard gunshots.

They were subsequently flagged down by a woman who said her Athol Street house had just been shot at — the same one that was fired at on June 9.

Police found several shell casings from a .22-calibre firearm. The youth admitted to the shootings, which Sparks noted carried a significant risk of serious bodily harm.

Judge Bruce Henning ensured the teen was aware he was being given an opportunity to turn himself around and urged him to take advantage of programming to keep himself out of the courts in the future. He received the highest sentence possible for a youth faced with these types of convictions: three years, to be split into two years closed custody and one-year community supervision.

Court heard that the youth comes from a troubled background and has been in the foster care system since he was two months old. Crown prosecutor Aly Sparks provided details of a crime spree that occurred in June.

Criminal behaviour in children and adolescents may be dependent on many factors, including cultural, social, economic, and non-personal problems, but it is the family’s first step in guiding the child on the right path or providing the grounds for his / her crime. Human beings are influenced by the thoughts, beliefs and behaviours of those around them from birth, and later imitate the patterns and behaviours that will somehow exemplify their behavioural patterns.

Juvenile misconduct may be a complex, multi-faceted issue. In arrange to plan viable avoidance and mediation methodologies for youth at the chance, it is imperative to get it the setting in which this conduct occurs. Of the populace of youth in Canada, the larger part of them will encounter ordinary moves to adulthood. In any case, a few will be uncovered to antagonistic variables that adversely affect their psycho-social improvement, and which may indeed contribute to insulting conduct. This, in turn, may lead to their inclusion with the criminal equity framework. (intext)

As of 2004, there were almost 72,000 children in care (i.e., cases where there has been an exchange of care and/or guardianship) in. The Office of Child and Family Benefit Backing met 250 young people in open guardianship and open detainment offices in Ontario. Of the 240 young people who reacted to the address many were past child welfare history, 48% said that they had a past history of child welfare. In Ontario, 378 of settled male youth proposed that child welfare/alternative care association was related to high-rate, inveterate offending. The Worldwide Youth Study, which was managed to a test of Toronto understudies (more than 3,200 adolescents in grades 7 to 9) in 2006, found that the predominance of reprobate conduct was: lowest among youth who were living with both guardians (18%); and higher among those from single-parent families (25%) and step-families (35%)Footnote33. In 2007, an evaluated 357,6(intext)

Whether orphaned or divorced and having a stepmother and still neglecting adolescents, maladjustment is one of the factors that can lead to frustration, retardation, foster care and community disruption, and in times of need. Changes in housing, appliances, and living conditions lead to him or her sibling being unable to afford and do so.

family environment

It is an environment in which one opens his eyes to the world and begins his growth. At an early age, although the child still does not walk or speak, all the movements of those around him are imitated and their behaviour and behaviour are imbued with the child’s personality and personality. Psychiatrists believe that family infrastructure should be based on the principles, satisfying and resolving the basic physical and mental needs and adapting children to normal social life. In examining the impact of the family environment, the family’s relationship with each other and the position of the child within the family should be considered.

It should be noted that peace and security, and affection in the family are crucial factors in the physical and mental development of children and adolescents. Parents’ affection and affection, in general, can be called a child’s psychological vitamin,

The need for love is an innate human feeling that is extremely effective in developing the personality of each individual. Lack of affection can cause mental illness and impair the mood and variety of abnormalities, affecting many generations. A child deprived of family affection, estranged from the family and community, considered isolated and always seeking revenge and feeling happy and satisfied after committing acts contrary to the rules and regulations of the social customs. The need for affection is not limited to a specific time in infancy, children and young people need some kind of affection and compassion at all times, and the needs are always psychological, social, and needs at any age. Puberty has its own social needs. The effects of these disorders later on in adolescence and adulthood appear to be a revolt, aggression, defiance of social rules and regulations, or indifference and isolation and isolation and lead to various crimes. Family breakdown, divorce, and separation between parents cause anxiety and worry for their children, and it is not possible to determine precisely which parent is most interested in the child at the time of parent separation. As a result of being deprived of a parent visit, children feel a lack of affection that the reaction to the psychological distress is later triggered by nervous, rational, repulsive behaviours from parents and others, and eventually social inadequacy. The death of the father or mother is effective on the child’s mental balance. An orphaned child who must live with his stepfather or stepfather in an environment other than his own is sad and distressed and is constantly anxious and unstable.

There are children who have lost their parents for whatever reason. The parents of these children are not necessarily disadvantaged but may have died in a car accident or disaster. These children than others, they have more problems and how you deal with them is very important. Children are very vulnerable to harm and problems, and only parents can protect them from various problems. These children are deprived of parental love because they do not learn how to express their feelings. Children and adolescents who live in boarding foster cares and do not have a supervisor are very frustrated with life. Malevolent or orphaned children are more likely to develop oppositional disobedience than other children. They also have a sense of insecurity and a lack of trust, and they cannot build relationships with others. How they deal with these children is of great importance because they are sufficiently damaged and mistaken for more harm. Note that these children need to be loved and loved, but they should not be pitied. Excessive affection and separation between them and other children make them feel more compassionate and more emotionally empowered by their parents. Misunderstanding and pity not only makes children happy but also hurts them more. Understanding your teen’s development are often instrumental to success. When children are placed in guardianship, it is very stressful for everyone within the family. you will feel angry, overwhelmed, or worried about your children’s safety and well-being. Your children are also confused and scared. (intext)

In addition to these injuries, orphanage children and adolescents will also face other problems such as poverty, attachment disorders, lack of social skills and mental health problems.

These teens are at high risk for emotional and behavioural problems for a variety of reasons. Among these causes of parental death make children vulnerable to physical and psychological risks.

Lack of children feeling safe and not meeting their needs Children in day-care centres due to frequent commuting from home to home and from home to boarding and from home to home Changing care centre policies, changing staff and recreational facilities Feeling destabilized. Lack of self-esteem and lack of expression of problems with the right person and lack of interest are other deficiencies and psychological problems of these children.

Behavioural and physical violence among them and lack of facilities and feeling deprived of home and family cause violence between them.

“Typical outcomes for youth who age out of care include low academic achievement; unemployment or underemployment; homelessness and housing insecurity; criminal justice system involvement; early parenthood; poor physical and mental health; and loneliness.” (Treleaven.S, 2019)(in the text)

In general, the duties that foster care staff have towards orphans are as follows:

1. Establishing a friendly and child-friendly relationship: Foster care staff should take great care in this regard, as children in the boarding foster care often feel lonely and unprotected, and the staff at the boarding foster care are more likely than not to talk to them.
2. Talenting children and adolescents and pushing them to their favourite fields.
3. Create a sense of responsibility, obedience to social rules and order.
4. Social Skills Training: A nurturer and foster care counsellor on dating, communicating with peers, foster care officials and community members, being able to make no harmful suggestions, providing necessary training and providing One’s behaviours come close to the norms and norms of ordinary people’s lives.
5. Creating a social place for children and adolescents at foster care: Foster care staff assign various responsibilities to these students and engage them in constructive activities, depending on the student’s status so that they are well-respected among peers. To find.
6. Investing in friendships and friendships: Having good relationships and friendships can be very useful for them. Exercise caution in the friendships of boarding children with high socioeconomic individuals, as this leads to comparison and a sense of exclusion and frustration.

In most boys ‘and girls’ centres, there are children who have been educated for various reasons. Abandoned and turned into a problem in the daycare centres because they were not released. For children under the age of 15, it is best to have them in class Out-of-foster care education Sign up and take courses that you are interested in Enter the job market at the right time. Also, they need to make to ensure that young people are not discharged until they are fully prepared for independence.

In the end, it seems that, although orphanage staff have made an unceasing effort to socialize these teens, stable caregiving in the first two years of child personality development is still a necessity. According to this study, providing appropriate conditions in childhood to meet the basic needs of children, including safe attachment, especially for orphaned children who are deprived of a safe and stable family environment, are essential for better growth and success and for preventing psychological problems in orphaned children. There are children in Canada’s child welfare framework who can’t tally the number of homes they have been in, says Merhar. “Kids continuously listen to the state, ‘the arrangement didn’t work out,’” she says. “You’re as of now regularly coming from a family on social help or with enslavement or manhandle issues. At that point you’re fair bounced around and never truly told why and it sustains sentiments of disgrace and worthlessness.”)in the text)

These issues indicate that the well-being of all the measures it has contemplated has not yet fully satisfied the children covered. Of course, the problems that children of well-being have for forming an independent life are problems that affect the majority of youth in society, but because they live in certain circumstances and do not have the proper spiritual and material support, they are more vulnerable to social harm. And they need more attention.

In chapter four of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, Dr. Perry writes about a rare case of a four-year-old girl who is underweight. Laura, the four-year-old girl, cannot seem to gain any weight despite being provided a high-calorie diet. Laura has visited several specialists and has undergone several tests but doctors are unable to find the root cause to her sickness. A psychologist even thinks that the child might have infantile anorexia. Dr. Perry, a psychiatrist, is asked to look into this case. When Dr. Perry arrives to the girl’s hospital room, he quickly realizes that the problem might be between the mother and daughter because there is no interaction. Dr. Perry decides to interview the mom, Virginia, to learn more about her. It is during this interview that Dr. Perry realizes that Virginia is the reason for her daughter’s underweight problem. Virginia was a foster child so she moved around several foster homes and as a result was unable to attach to any of her caregivers. Since Virginia did not experience affection growing up, she did not know how to show affection to her daughter. This affected Laura’s development; her body could not release the hormones needed for growth. In order to help this family, Dr. Perry had another mother and child move in with Virginia and Laura. The idea was for Virginia to see and learn how to show affection to her daughter by hugging, kissing, and rocking. Laura eventually gained weight because now she was receiving the physical nurture that allowed her brain to release the hormones for growth.

According to Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory, Laura who is four years old should be in the early school age stage. At this stage, developmental tasks should be gender identification, early moral development, self-theory, and peer play (Newman & Newman, 2011). Children will begin to identify with their gender, they will identify with girls or boys based on how they look, what they like, and what they have learned from adults. Children will also develop morality, they will learn how one ‘should’ behave. Furthermore, self-theory develops as children begin to think about themselves, what they like, who they are in this world, and what their future might be like for them (Newman & Newman, 2011). Lastly, children begin to interact with other peers from school and develop interpersonal skills. Therefore, at this stage the psychosocial crisis is initiative versus guilt (Newman & Newman, 2011). Children begin to take initiative by coming up with new games and trying to lead others. If supported they may start to feel secure about their decisions so they start taking initiative. However, if adults or peers punish them or disagree with their decision then it will bring guilt. The central process is identification, as stated before, they begin to identify who they are in this world. The radius of significant relationships are parents, close relatives, siblings, and peers. If there is a positive resolution to the psychosocial crisis then the prime adaptive ego quality is purpose. However, if it was ineffective, then the core pathology is inhibition. Unfortunately, Laura is not at this stage, she is still at the infancy stage because attachment, communication, and emotions are not developed.

In Laura’s case, we can see how policies affect families, their behavior and development. Virginia did not have her parents from the start, she was a foster child growing up. In the past, a welfare policy only allowed children to stay with foster parents up to six months. Every six months children had to be moved to different homes and, due to this, children could not develop an attachment with their caregivers. As Dr. Perry mentions, a child needs consistent caregivers for a healthy development. Unfortunately, Virginia did not have this consistency since she had to move every six months. At age five, she finally found a caring family who was willing to adopt her. However, once again she was ripped away from those she started to care for and love. The state did not terminate the parental rights of her biological parents so she could not be adopted. When she turned 18 years old, the state was no longer responsible and did not allow her foster parents to keep in touch. This lack of attachment and affection forced Virginia to seek out love which resulted in her pregnancy. All on her own, she took care of her daughter but did not know to show affection through physical contact because she did not experience it herself. Consequently, Laura had problems growing because of the lack of affection. The barrier in this case is that Virginia does not know how to develop attachment through physical contact. Virginia did not have the maternal instincts and the support from any friends or family members.

Attachment, brain development, arousal continuum, and relationships interrupted Laura’s normal development. Attachment is developed when an adult is present and interacts with the baby consistently (Newman & Newman, 2011). Laura’s mom, Virginia, unfortunately did not know how to express her love through physical contact. Physical nurture is crucial for children’s growth (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). Since there was a lack of physical nurture, Laura did not have the stimulation for her body to release the hormones needed for growth. In other words, children get pleasure from receiving love which releases hormones that allows them to grow (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). The brain needs stimulation in order to develop, but, since Laura did not receive this stimulation then certain areas of her brain could not completely develop. Furthermore, when a child is under threat or stress it will cause a shift in the arousal continuum (Newman & Newman, 2011). Meaning that during stress, emotions and behavior will escalate. These physical and mental changes help us prepare ourselves when under stress. The child responds to the threat by either fighting back or running away. If parents help their children cope with stress then children can control themselves when under stress. However, in Laura’s case, no attachment was developed meaning the mother could not help her child cope with stress properly affecting her development. Lastly, the fact that Virginia could not build attachments lead her to also not build relationships. Not only could she not build relationships but from the start she did not have anyone that was with her consistently to support her. Relationships are crucial for development because they serve as a support system, role models, and even resources (Newman & Newman, 2011). Newman and Newman (2011) state that relationships impact both emotional and cognitive development. Virginia did not have someone by her side to show her how to take care of her baby and how to show affection.

In sum, Dr. Perry notes the importance of responding to children trauma early. If children are not allowed to develop this can have a negative impact in their future. Dr. Perry gives the example of children learning to speak a new language. When a child is not exposed early to the new language, he or she might not be able to speak it fluently. The child can learn the new language later on but will now speak with an accent. Children who experience trauma need to seek help right away and receive the right intervention to help them develop fully before it is too late. If Virginia was not taught the importance of showing affection to Laura then Laura would continue having physical and emotional problems.

References

Newman, B.M. & Newman, P.R. (2011). Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Perry, B. D., & Szalavitz, M. (2006). The boy who was raised as a dog and other stories from a child psychiatrist’s notebook: What traumatized children can teach us about loss, love, and healing. New York, NY, US: Basic Books.

Program Purpose

The purpose of this primary program is to prevent the aging out of youth and young adults in Baltimore Public Schools within the foster care system through the increased awareness and ultimately the adoption of these youths. The Arc Baltimore (https://www.thearcbaltimore.org/programs/family-services/foster-care/) will attend the educational programs and awareness campaigns over the course of a year to teach about the foster care system and the type of situations that teens face as they age out of the foster care system without being adopted. This program will also work in collaboration with FosterOn (https://fosteron.org/), a foster care service based in Massachusetts, through video conferences and consultations. This program will serve teens ages 15 to 17 who are within the Baltimore Public School System who are also in foster care. The program will consist of members of the community who will engage in 12 of the program workshops to receive the necessary insight and information to help raise awareness in the foster care system. The foster care system is designed for children of all ages; however this program will specifically focus on those who are the ages of 15 to 17 as this is the age in which they begin to “age out” leaving them alone. This age group is also the focus group of the organization FosterOn who plan on assisting in this program. The exclusionary criteria include children who are below the ages of 15 as well as community members who do not participate in the activities presented for the awareness of this system. This group will be excluded as those who are aged below 15 experience an increased likelihood of adoption compared to those in their late teen years.

The Problem

There are over 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States, with almost all of them waiting to be adopted. The issue that arises is that most of them will age out of foster care without ever being adopted adoptive family. With these teens aging out, most of them do not handle adulthood properly as they were not able to have any support before entering adulthood. Many experience homelessness and issues with the law upon aging out of the foster care system. Research studies have shown that teens who have been adopted and receive the support of a loving family fare better than those who are left alone. However, this problem does not have the amount of awareness behind it that it should, causing this issue to remain prevalent and on the rise.

According to ForeverFamily.org, “approximately 24,000 American teenagers in foster care turn 18 years old each year. At this age, they are expected to move out and start their lives on their own.” (ForeverFamily, n.d.). This is one of the most common occurrences within the foster care system as many teens never get adopted. Many foster children have a hard time finding adoptive families for many children, especially older children. As these children age, the chances for adoption decreases dramatically (Family & Youth Initiative, n.d.). After a year in foster care, the chance of being adopted decreases “rapidly,” and after three to three and a half years in care, the chance of leaving before being adopted before aging out is “incredibly low” (National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, 2013). After these teens age out of the foster care system, they tend to have a harder time in young adulthood. This is present from various statistics present. According to the National Foster Youth Institute, “after reaching the age of 18, 20% of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless. Only 1 out of every 2 foster kids who age out of the system will have some form of gainful employment by the age of 24. There is less than a 3% chance for children who have aged out of foster care to earn a college degree at any point in their life. 7 out of 10 girls who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant before the age of 21.” (NFYI, n.d.).

Providing a home for every teen in the foster care system is not a feasible goal as the awareness for this issue is one that is very low as there is not much research around this topic as well.

Theoretical Framework

The Life Course Theory lays down the framework for understanding development of emerging adults in foster care . This theory touches upon the various directions and paths that can lead to different outcomes as one progresses to adulthood (Elder, 1998). Life Course Theory explains human development in an ecological context meaning that human development is based off of their surroundings. This program presented uses this theory as it focuses on the environment that brings forth the different life paths that those in the foster care tend to face and how the adoption of these children can alter that life path.

The program presented also focuses on Brofenbrenner’s socioecological theory. This theory involves the interaction of an individual with their different environments: these systems include the microsystem and macrosystem and how it effects their development and life(Bronfenbrenner, 1977). In this program, the theory places focus on the microsystems which are the individual, family, peers, community, as well as the schools and neighboring environments. This program will directly interact with community members as information on the rising issue of foster children aging out will be provided.

This program also employs the social learning theory because the program seeks to teach participants as well as the surrounding community about the ever rising problem of foster kids being too old to be adopted, leaving them without a family or support. This program will do this by creating community based events and awareness campaigns to educate the participants and community about this issue. It will work because by educating those involved and around, the social norm (environmental factor) and attitudes towards (cognitive factor) foster kids being too old to be chosen can begin to be changed.

The goal of this program is to increase awareness for those children and teens in public schools who are in the foster care system who age out and grow up without families and support. Through educational and informational campaigns and workshops, community members will have increased knowledge of teens who age out of the foster care system, which will result in increased rates of adoption of this age group in the long term.

Measurable Objective

The objective of this program is to increase to see an increase in community awareness of public school foster teens by 20% in at least 50% of the participating communities and neighborhoods by the end of the year. This objective will assist in accomplishing the goal of increasing the adoption rates of teens and young adults in public schools within Baltimore City, Maryland. The program will measure the participants’ knowledge through a pre-assessment and post-assessment which will be given at the beginning and the end of the program.

The pre-assessment and post-assessment will have questions related to the following factors of the foster care system such as:

• Type of children in the system
• Mean age of adoption
• Average amount of children placed in foster care a year
• Average amount of teens who age out of the system
• Which race is more likely to get adopted
• What foster care programs have you heard of
• What strategies have been helpful in finding youth permanent homes
• What happens after teens age out
• What is the likelihood of those who age out becoming homeless

The answers to the pre-assessment and post-assessment will be compared to each other respectively to assess the participants’ knowledge over the 12-month period.

Key Activity

The program consists of two major activities. These activities are workshops and awareness raising campaigns led by team and discussion leaders. Participants will be taught by discussion leaders and activist within the foster care system. These participants will learn about the differences in adoption rates, the likelihood of adoption once older in age, as well what can happen once they age out of the system. The workshops the participants will attended will be at least 1 hour in length once a month. For this program, participants are required to attend at least 8 of the 12 activities scheduled.

In the first workshop session, participants will begin by taking a pre-assessment to measure where their knowledge of the foster care system is. In the second and third sessions, the participants will learn about what happens when teens age out of the system and the importance behind it. In the fourth and fifth sessions, the participants will visit a foster care center and participate in creating art with the teens that are directed towards adoption awareness. In the sixth and seventh sessions, participants will write letters to the mayor and governor with information on the program, requesting a way to gain support for increasing the awareness of what happens in the foster care system as these teens continue to age out. Also, during these sessions, participants will also write letters to their local radio station requesting any assistance in helping spread the word of this program to make it more public. The next five sessions will be in the community awareness raising activities. These activities will be as followed respectively:

• Distribute information about foster care needs in your community or compelling stories to newsletters, advocacy groups, bulletin boards, public service announcements, parent/teacher organizations, community centers, web sites and special interest groups.
• Distribute information on ways members of your community can make a difference in the lives of young people in foster care
• Distribute foster care fact sheets, bumper stickers, bookmarks/inserts, banners and other materials with foster care information
• Try and Recruit members of the community (church, workplace, neighborhood or community center) to volunteer to support foster families or to become foster parents

In the final session, participants will recap on their experiences throughout the year as well as how they feel in terms of making an actual difference in the community. Following this review, the post-assessment will be given consisting of the same questions. The results of the questions will be recorded and compared to the pre-assessment. If the results are better than before, the awareness that the participants have towards the foster care system and aging out teens have improved.

Narrative

Personnel:

• Program Director, ½ FTE: must have a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work or related field. This staff member will work 15-20 per month with the program presented. He or she is responsible for communicating with participants during the 12-month program as well as organizing scheduled events within the community that have been laid out by the program presented.
• Discussion/Workshop Leader, ¼ FTE: Must have an Associate’s Degree in Social Work or higher, Must have prior knowledge of the foster care system, must have at least one year experience in discussion leading, he or she is responsible for facilitating discussion amongst the participants as well as providing the necessary information to the participants to accurately and efficiently communicate goals in each of the workshops.
• Discussion Assistant: ¼ FTE: Must be volunteers, Volunteers will be high school or college students who are interested in becoming more involved within the social and human services system. Discussion assistants will assist in putting together and printing out information and fact sheets for participants to take home and distribute in later sessions. They will meet with discussion leaders at the end of the session each month to receive assignments and plan out the next month’s activities to be completed by the participants in the next session.

Other Materials:

• Supplies include paper, ink, printers, pens, markers, and poster boards. The ink and paper will be used for worksheets and information sheets that will be distributed to the participants during the workshops and to the community in later sessions. The poster board and markers and will be used in the art session with the children and teens in the foster care facility that is visited.

Mission Statement

The Arc Baltimore works diligently to ensure that each foster child they come in contact with is presented with care and treatment. They work closely with potential foster care parents to make sure that every child that is adopted is adopted into a loving family that will help that child or teen reach their full potential. FosterOn is dedicated to “remind society that foster kids of all ages are valuable and worthy of love–that every kid should have at least one person who will always be there for them. We envision a world where every kid who leaves foster care finds at least one person who will be there for them.” (FosterOn, n.d.). This foster care awareness program is a chance for those who may not know about the difficulties and hardships that teens face to gain more insight into what actually goes on. This program also brings forth the opportunity for teens to be adopted who usually are regarded as too old.

Staff

• Program Director
• Trained discussion leaders and assistants

Facilities

• Workshop room/office provided by The Arc Baltimore
• Room able to 15-20 people (staff and participants)

Supplies

• Training material (booklets and packets)
• Paper for printing information and fact sheets on foster care system and awareness
• Poster boards and markers for art awareness session and signs for awareness campaign and volunteer recruitment

Program Director

• Communicating with participants during the 12-month program
• organizing scheduled events within the community that have been laid out by the program presented Diagnose causes of local cases

Discussion Leaders and Assistants

• responsible for facilitating discussion amongst the participants
• providing the necessary information to the participants to accurately and efficiently communicate goals in each of the workshops.
• Assist in putting together and printing out information and fact sheets for participants to take home and distribute in later sessions
• Will meet with discussion leaders at the end of the session each month to receive assignments and plan out the next month’s activities to be completed by the participants in the next session

Participants

• Attend 11 workshops and 1 in the field activity in the community to learn about the foster care system and what the issues facing an aging out teen
• Participants will have firsthand experience with foster care teens though a mentorship activity
• Participants will learn about the various outcomes within the foster care system and aging out of it
• Participants will be given informational worksheets that they will be able to review at home
• Participants will incorporate what they learned and share it with immediate community
• Increase knowledge and awareness of teens in the foster are system aging out by 20%, leaving them with little to no support or training for life after foster care
• Increase the amount of adoptions for teens ages 15-17.
• Decrease the amount of teens aging out within the foster care system.

Works Citied

1. Ahmann, E. (2017). Supporting Youth Aging Out of Foster Care. Pediatric Nursing, 43(1), 43–48. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=121353604&site=ehost-live
2. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513-531. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
3. National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NACSW). (2013). NACSW, No. 19: Risk of long-term foster care report. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/nscaw-no-19-risk-oflong-term-foster-care-report
4. Reilly, T. (2003). Transition from care: Status and outcomes of youth who age out of foster care. Child Welfare League of America, 82(6), 727-746
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). (2016). The AFCARS report #23: Preliminary estimates for FY 2015 as of June 2016. Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. Retrieved from www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/ afcarsreport23.pdf
6. Ritter, K. (2005, November 24). Homes full of thanks. Philadelphia Inquirer, B1, B4
7. Gomez, R.J., Ryan, T.N., Norton, C., Jones, C., Galan-Cisneros, P. (2015). Perceptions of learned helplessness among emerging adults aging out of foster care. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 1-10.
8. Urban Institute. (2008). Coming of age: Employment outcomes for youth who age out of foster care through their middle twenties. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
9. Elder, G. H. (1998). The life course as developmental theory. Child Development, 69,1–12.
10. Aging Out Of Foster Care. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2020, from https://www.foreverfamily.org/aging-out-of-foster-care
11. Family & Youth Initiative. (n.d.). Too many children are growing up without families in the Washington DC Metro area. Washington DC: Author.
12. Nfyiadmin. (2017, May 26). 51 Useful Aging Out of Foster Care Statistics: Social Race Media. Retrieved January 20, 2020, from https://www.nfyi.org/51-useful-aging-out-of-foster-care-statistics-social-race-media/

Attention- Aviana and Alake. (Pause) They were born October 6th, 2017. Aviana enjoys eating goldfish, playing outside, and riding on little toys. Alake enjoys eating eggs, playing with blocks, and playing outside with his twin sister. These kids seem to be your typical toddlers, but they are not. Their lives started completely different than most peoples have. Their dad passed away from a terminal cancer when they were just a month old. Aside from losing one parent, their mom was doing drugs, specifically suboxone, while pregnant with them. This caused both babies to be born with a drug addiction. After being born they were having major withdrawals from the drug. For the first three months of their life they were in the foster care system until February 21st when a kind soul took on the responsibility of taking care of them. These kids have become a part of her life and she is working tirelessly to gain custody of both babies. While preparing for this task, she is also preparing financially to take on the task of adopting these two sweet twins and taking them out of the system.

Define problem/need- Approximately 69,525 children in the U.S are waiting to be adopted because their parents’ rights have been terminated. This is according to Adoptivefamilies.com which is a website about adoption information and the process on how to adopt if you are interested in it. Children around the country today face the fear of whether or not they will ever be loved by a real family or have what they would call at “normal” life including not just a forever family but friends, a school to attend, maybe even a church to go to. A lot of these kids face things we couldn’t even begin to comprehend like dealing with different forms of abuse like sexual, physical, verbal and dealing with drug or opioid addicted parents. Some of the kids even suffer from PTSD due to the things that they go through as a child and even while in foster care. The cost of adoption can range from almost 3,000 dollars to 43,000 dollars depending on how you choose to adopt the child. This is according to creatingafamily.org which is a website about the cost of adoption and offers support and courses for anyone involved throughout the process.

Satisfaction- Adoption should be made cheaper for those who are wanting to start a family or expand their own. This would allow those who are capable of raising a child and willing to take them out of the system a chance to give them a chance to start a new life. Allowing adoption to be cheaper would also be encouraging to those who feel that they can’t afford adoption to begin with and might even interest some parents who cannot have kids to try this option out. It would give these kids an opportunity to be taken out of the system. On top of lowering the cost, another way to help advocate adopting through foster care is to be encouraging and kind. Encouraging those debating on or going through the process of adopting through the foster care system can help them make an important decision or help them keep pushing through the process. Doing both of these things can ease the burden of those wanting or trying to adopt.

Visualization-Nearly 60% of young men who age out of the foster care system and are legally emancipated have been convicted of a crime. This is according to nfyi.org which stands for the national foster youth institute. It is a website created by an organization that advocates for children to be adopted out of foster care and into loving homes. If we lower the cost of adopting through foster care, it would allow more people to be able to afford it and therefore getting more kids out of the system. With more kids out of the system and into homes, we can lower the percentage of those who are convicted of crimes and sent to jail or prison. This would help the American people save tax payer money on possible future inmates. Prisons, juvenile justice programs, and parole and other corrections programs make up about 5 percent of state budgets, or $56 billion. This is according to cbpp.org which is a research and policy institute that researches federal and state policies. Instead, the money could go to something else that would help benefit our country like donating money to schools, fixing our roads, or helping our veterans that have come home from serving. It could even go towards the country’s national debt.

Action- All of these options are better things to put our tax money towards instead of feeding and taking care of future convicts in jail or even prison. Being able to lower the cost of adopting and just being a little encouraging are both great ways to advocate for adopting from foster care. Going back to Aviana and alkali the one-and-a-half-year-old twins that I spoke of earlier, that are currently stuck in the foster care system right now and their care taker who is about to begin the process of adopting them. We need to make it more financially accessible and lower the cost to make it easier for their caretaker to adopt them and take them out of the system. These are all reasons why we should lower the cost of adopting from foster care.

How has Social Policy Shaped Foster Care Practice in the Australian Welfare Context?

Reviewing the history of Foster Care, it must be recognized that Foster Care practice has not been able to make substantial and measured improved outcomes for children. Rather, despite decades of policy change, strategy and foster care change, the system has only been able to improve within the lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (safety, physiological) (Hopper, 2020)

Baber (et al, 2003) asserted that Foster Care is in crisis and practitioners, researchers and politicians have to recognise it as such. Why is it in crisis? What’s the problem represented by this crisis? Government policy leads practice. The social policies are not adequate, wrongly targeted or poorly effected. According to McClelland & Smith (2014), social policy involves the wellbeing of people and the influence on the individual at different levels, for instance, health and education. Social policy influences these different levels which in turn shape Foster care practice.

To understand the impact of policy on practice, we can review foster care history and the social policy in effect at that time. It will be seen that the consequences of child protection polices throughout time ‘robbed children of their most basic comforts and welfare, their civil and human rights, and in many cases their mental and physical health’ (Wilson, 2019, p. 135). By reviewing the policy and resulting practice, it is hoped that the cause-effect relationship can be identified that may lead to improvements in future social policy and better results for foster children.

In the late 19th century, governments were managing the industrial revolution as well as the Gold rush with accompanied migration of people. This had many urban and social challenges, amongst them the development of systems of care for children left behind by errant parents (Musgrove, 2008). Institutions were the initial solution however this changed when it was noted that Foster care was cheaper than institutional care (e.g. Adelaide in 1872). ‘Boarding out’ was the expression utilized to define the children’s placement with foster families. (Evan, 2013). Placing children with “good” families, who had the opportunity of schooling was the preferred solution. At least, this was the thought of the social reformers. (Musgrove, 2008). The retribution to these families was in part calculated through the amount of labour the children could supply. In Melbourne the police were entrusted with the distribution of foster care licenses with a resulting militant tone and strict care, this was clearly noted when a Melbourne journalist compare the two states systems (Briggs & Hunt, 2015). Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families under the Aborigines Protection Act (in Victoria) and other states soon followed suit in the following years (Bringing Them Home Report 1997).

The social policy was designed to maintain social order and provide for a “respectable” society. Working class (respectable) families were assisted with the children (Musgrove, 2008) whilst the “undeserving poor” and Aboriginal were separated from their children. This stigma of social class also assigned a role for the (undesirable) single mother and gave them some relevance in society.

The negative results of social policy, the Great War and subsequent global depression led the Australian government towards a stronger welfare state and inclusive interventions. This nascent welfare state aimed at providing social policy, health services and thus meeting social needs. Whilst emergent in the 1930s, the welfare state did not come of age until after the Second World War. Indeed the term “Child welfare” was adopted by various states in lieu of the term “neglected children” (Musgrove, 2008).

In 1929, more children appeared in institutions due to the Great Depression. The government didn’t have any other option than to assign money to the institutions (Musgrove, 2008). This was costly and many children were “boarding out” to their own mothers. Remuneration to these foster careers was low however due the social norms of the times (depression) they could not expect any more. There was however the change in expectation that the benefit derived from fostering a child should not be financial (or derived through child labour) but in emotional terms. This was a time of change and by 1937 the Victorian government introduced non-contributory pensions for widows. (Lawrence, 2016) Social services became better coordinated with development of a central service in Melbourne (1929), Adelaide (1936) and Sydney (1936). The central service however was not mature and was able only, to form as a register for foster cases. Missing services, were still relegated to a women’s role, women being largely still seen of as supported by their husbands and ideal for charitable use of their talents.

The social policy aimed to provide a minimum wage and working conditions which included protection from (or exclusion of) non-European or coloured people. This policy supported the Australian standard of living, but strengthened the moral support for segregation. This in turn extended the practice of removal of Aboriginal children from their families, one based on pre 1900’s social policies.

In 1954, the Children’s Welfare Act broadened the scope by which children could be committed to institutional care. Previously these were mostly run by religious or charities with state run reformatories for young offenders and disabled youth. Private institutions were required to register and state governments started their own approved homes/ schools/ hostels. (Evans, 2013)

In 1969 the Aborigine Protection Act was repealed in all states and marked a change in the moral and social policy understanding. Social policy change in the 1970s furthered decentralization which allowed closer integration into the local community. Local led initiatives (particularly in Victoria), allowed a return to smaller institutions and home based care. Foster care parents were not well catered for and foster care parents complained to have to cope with little financial compensation, children with disabilities, among other things. (Musgrove, 2008). The Federal government destined more money for creatives’ social initiatives, (Briggs & Hunt, 2015). However, Dickey et al. 1986, revealed that large part of the money was neglected and spent in expanding the administration during the 1970s.

This period from 1930s through the 1970s was perhaps driven by the economic possibilities of the times. From the depression era protectionism (of wage and living standard) to the decentralization of the sixties and seventies (multiculturalism) and start of labour government dominance (Deeming, 2013). Foster care practice changed from institutional to a decentralized model with increased emphasis on “human” goals.

In Victoria, ‘Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005’ as well as ‘Children, Youth and Families Act, 2005’ are the foundation legislations.

These came into practice in 2007 with community service organizations providing care, the Department of Human Services providing child protection and the Children’s Court making decisions. (AIHW, 2012).

In the last ten years, the reports of abuse or neglect to child protection department has doubled in number. This escalation is due, among other things, to changes in social values in society and better knowledge of safety and wellbeing. Child protection was born as an answer to serious physical abuse cases, however it has now changed to give solutions to general abuse (sexual, physic, emotional), neglect and domestic violence. This has increased the demand for social services. (Bromfield & Holzer 2008).

In the same manner, the number of children removed from their parents have doubled in the last decade. Children have worse outcomes when they are removed from their home,

Taking a child out of their families should be the last resort, with a receiving foster family previously prepared. If the case requires removal of a child, it needs to be with the support of the family and supervisors to overcome the issues and cement positive change.

Foster families perform crucial work in keeping children healthy, secure, comfortable and with resources. Bonfield (et al. 2010). Nevertheless, looking after abused children with traumas is a complex challenge for foster parents. (Harkin & Houston, 2016).

In today’s welfare system, foster carers don’t feel supported by the social practioners and the policies in place. A recent study disclosed that foster carers felt pressure, angst and frustration, in the interaction with the foster care system (Blythe, et al. 2013). There are many factors stacked against foster parenting (such as not enough money, no support from the system, children with many problems, etc.), therefore there are few families who are motivated to do it.

It is curious that these factors are consistent throughout the time. Currently the amount of compensation a family foster care is low. It is understandable the families should move for altruism, with generosity to give a child an opportunity of a “normal” life. However, at least, the expenses of care must be covered but in many cases, these are not met. It would be good to increase the amount and ensure foster families have the qualities to enable successful foster care. Fostering is challenging and families need motivators to take the risk. The responsibility that they assume should come with reasonable economical compensation as motivation.

For this reason, it is necessary to reform the system so that children become a priority with solving their needs in the primary goal. Not to do so only creates future issues due the negligence of the system, poor response by the children, frustration of the workers and deterioration of foster parent quality.

The change in structure and type of cases supported has led to a strategic concentration on ‘early intervention’, to support families to avoid the child entering the protection system, to help reduce their issues through factual and realistic intervention (Bromfield & Holzer, 2008). The system must avoid removing a child from their environment, and provide an early intervention backed up with adequate resources and professionals.

The early intervention necessitates close monitoring of children at risk which in turn suggests the involvement of the immediate community surrounding the child. Neighbors, extended family, friends as well as professionals such as social workers, teachers, doctors, nurses, etc.

It is clear that the system fails. Even with the positive evolution over the last 150 years it has poor and obsolete practices. In a report statics of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, 2012 ) specified that in 2010/11, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children still have a higher statistical number of children out of home than non-Indigenous children. Is it a coincidence that this statistic has not changed over the last 150 years? The systemic (generational) consequences of long term, poor quality foster care can cause social and emotional issues, as well as problematic behaviors and educative abilities. (Harkin & Houston, 2016).

The system has to change the policies to improve the practice. Social workers decision are led by legal statutes and policy. Social workers feel that they are not responding adequately to the children and their foster care families. (Harkin & Houston, 2016).

For better foster care practice, the system needs to be capable of listening to the children and allow them to take part in the decisions for their outcomes. Some factors such as permanency, responsiveness, confidence, safety, affection and resilience are some of the aspects that children benefit from, when being involved in decisions with their foster families (Randle, 2013).

References:

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2012) Child protection Australia 2010–11. (Child Welfare series no. 53. Cat. No. CWS 41). Canberra: AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/d59ebbfb-9a91-4e75-b453-860a0ae1c676/13486.pdf.aspx?inline=true
2. Barber, J., Delfabbro, J., Gilbertson, P. & Robyn, G. (2003). Children in Foster Care. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.federation.edu.au/lib/ballarat/reader.action?docID=200335
3. Blythe, S., Halcomb, E., Wilkes, L. & Jackson, D. (2013) Caring for vulnerable children: Challenges of mothering in the Australian foster care system. Contemporary Nurse, 44(1), 87-98, https://doi.org/10.5172/conu.2013.44.1.87
4. Bonfield, S., Collins, S., Guishard-Pine, J., & Langdon, P. E. (2010). Help-seeking by foster-carers for their ‘looked after’ children: The role of mental health literacy and treatment attitudes. The British Journal of Social Work, 40(5), 1335–1352. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcp050
5. Briggs, F., & Hunt, S. (2015). Foster Care from a Historical Perspective. Children Australia, 40(4), 316-326. https://doi-org.ezproxy.federation.edu.au/10.1017/cha.2015.36
6. Bringing Them Home Report (1997) Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families
7. https://bth.humanrights.gov.au/the-report/bringing-them-home-report
8. Bromfield, L. & Holzer, P. (2008). NCPASS comparability of child protection data: project report. Melbourne: AIFS. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.385.2727&rep=rep1&type=pdf
9. Cashmore, J. A., & Paxman, M. (2006). Predicting after-care outcomes: The importance of ‘felt security’. Child and Family Social Work, 11, 232-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2006.00430.x
10. Deeming C. (2013). Regional Issue: Social Policy Developments in Australia and New Zealand. Social policy & administration, 47(6), 668–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12037
11. Dickey, B., Martin, E. & Oxenberry, R. (1986). Rations, Residence, Resources: A History of Social Welfare in South Australia since 1836. Wakefield Press.
12. Evans, C. (2013) Clarendon Children’s Home (1923-2006), Find & Connect, Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/tas/biogs/TE00028b.htm.
13. Harkin, C. & Houston, S (2016) Reviewing the literature on the breakdown of foster care placements for young people: complexity and the social work task. Child Care in Practice, 22(2), 98-112. tps://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2015.1102124
14. Hopper, E. (2020). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Explained. ThoughtCo, https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571
15. Lawrence, R. (2016). Professional Social Work in Australia. ANU Press. http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n1799/pdf/ch02.pdf
16. McClelland, A. (2014). “What Is Social Policy?” in A. McClelland Alison and P. Smyth (eds), Social Policy in Australia: Understanding for Action. https://ebookcentralproquestcom.ezproxy.federation.edu.au/lib/ballarat/reader.action?docID=5964832
17. Musgrove, N., Michell, D. (2018). The Slow Evolution of Foster Care in Australia Just Like a Family? https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.federation.edu.au/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-93900-1
18. Randle, M. (2013) Through the Eyes of Ex-Foster Children: Placement Success and the Characteristics of Good Foster Carers. Practice, 25(1), 3-19 https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2013.775236
19. Wilson, J. (2019) The Slow Evolution of Foster Care in Australia: Just Like a Family? Australian Historical Studies, 50:1, 135-136 https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2019.1559455

The most interesting thing that I have learned in these chapters is the removal of Native Americans called the Mohicans, who were located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. I am actually not too familiar with this topic but I was very intrigued to read and learn more about the issue. A current topic that I am a bit familiar with is kids aging out of the foster care system and I felt that these two issues are very relatable to one another. I was very surprised by how the United States government forced Native Americans out of their homes although there were the Indian Reservation System and the Proclamation Line set in place.

When reading, I discovered how the American Revolution ended due to the British giving up their rights to all lands located around the Mississippi River. This caused and allowed the United States to be in control of what gets to happen to those lands. According to the e-textbook, Globalyceum American History, 1450-1877, “Hundreds of thousands of Native Americans occupied these lands” (Reading: Captain Hendrick Aupaumut). To further explain, Native Americans were allied with colonists to help bring Canada under the British Empire and fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War. Soon later, the British created what was called the Proclamation Line which prohibited Americans from buying and/or settling in lands in the west. To the Native Americans, this seemed very unfair since the point of the Proclamation Line was supposed to prevent anything happening to their lands. Instead, once the United States had control, President Jackson allowed the government to force Native Americans out of their land. The e-textbook mentioned, “ The Stockbridge Indians had been pushed off of their lands and were forced to relocate to the White River in what is today the state of Indiana” (Globalyceum American History, 1450-1877). With this, they were able to relocate to a different area but were very anxious about their ability to adapt to a new environment and use techniques to survive.

Moreover, Captain Hendrick Aupaumut of the Mohican tribe reached out to President Jackson through a written letter pleading for pity. In the letter, Aupaumut stated, “We earnestly request you to cast an eye of pity on us–to help u–to give us such writing [treaty] that would prevent the evil consequences…” (Globalyceum American History, 1450-1877). The tribe, especially Aupaumut, was concerned for their survival. President Jackson replied with “solutions” for Aupaumut and his tribe. He mentioned in this letter to Aupaumut saying, “If you give up war and hunting… adopt the culture of the earth and raise domestic animals; you see how from a small family you may become a great nation by adopting the course, which from the small beginning you describe, has made us a great nation” (Globalyceum American History, 1450-1877). What President Jackson wanted Aupaumut and his tribe to do was to give up their cultural survival of war and hunting and become farmers which include raising animals, growing crops as well as learning to make tools just like Americans.

These situations that Aupaumut and his tribe faced are very parallel to the foster care system all over the world. This issue of aging out of the foster care system received some attention but in my opinion, I believe that we need to bring more attention to this issue and speak more about it. Each year, more than 600,000 kids end up in the foster care system due to many reasons such as parents abandoning their kid(s), abuse, neglect, death, and more. As you may or may not know, once a child turns 18 years of age, they are identified as adults and are able to take care of themselves and are forced out of the foster care system, if they are not taken in by a family. They are basically being thrown into the world with little to no experience. Not being raised in a family brings many dilemmas such as not having certain skill sets like cooking, paying for your own necessities, being employed, going to college, and many more. In fact, most 18 year olds that are pushed out of the foster care system end up homeless, prone to being suicidal, or even develop mental disorders. The reason that 18 year olds are being pushed out of the foster care system is to be able to make more space for kids who are younger and unable to take care of themselves.

Overall, this issue makes me very sad and upset because the government is blaming homeless people for their increasing population, littering, loitering, making the city look dirty, etc. Each homeless person has their own story as to why they ended up in the situation they are in but the government has done little to nothing to help. There needs to be an increase of support for especially teens that are fresh out of the foster care system and teens living on the streets. In addition, there needs to be higher levels of education that is affordable for teens/young adults living without any parental support, health care that is available to all, as well as police who are equipped and trained to help, and to not criminalize/further harm those who are already in tough positions.

Significant Issues Faced by Youth Aging out of Foster Care

In 2018 there were over 438,000 children in the United States foster care system and more children are being added every day (“Foster). These children have often seen or felt horrible forms of abuse or neglect. They are usually left in the system for months at a time and some children will spend their entire childhood in foster care. However, once a foster youth turns 18 or 19, depending on the state they age out of, they are simply left without any type of assistance or support. Homelessness, mental health problems, and poor relationships are three prominent issues faced by teenagers as they age out of the foster care system in the United States.

Every year over 20,000 students age out of the foster care system (Hokanson et al. 142). Aging out of foster care occurs when a teenager in the foster care system has not been adopted. The official age when a student ages out depends on the state but for most states it is when the student turns 18 or 19. Of the 20,000 teenagers who age out every year only three percent will earn a college degree, one in every two will develop substance abuse problems, and 60 percent of boys who age out will have been convicted of a crime (Sorrell). The reason so many of these teenagers struggle is that they are often simply kicked out and left on their own as soon as their birthday arrives. The teenagers have sometimes been on their own or left to themselves for a long period of time, however after they leave the foster care system, they no longer have a source of income or anyone checking on their wellbeing. These challenges lead to high numbers of teenagers who are homeless.

A study done by The National Alliance to End Homelessness in 1995 found that within 18 months of emancipation 40-50% of foster youth became homeless. Since then those numbers have continued to increase. In fact, the article “From Foster Home to Homeless” wrote “Indeed, the back door of the foster care system is the front door of the homeless system” (3). Teenagers often struggle to find affordable housing and a job after aging out of the foster care system. Many students in the foster care system do not graduate with a high school degree and if they are lucky enough to earn a diploma they do not usually have the funds or resources to be able to continue to college. While some may argue that there is affordable government housing specifically available for people in similar situations, foster youth struggle to accept aid. Research has found that “Youth formerly in foster care often discuss feeling internal and external pressure to attain total independence…This may be an artifact of experiencing continual disappointments by adults or needing to assume adult responsibilities during formative developmental stages, a life experience not typical of their peers who have not been in foster care” (Hokanson et al. 143). Foster youth often experience traumatic experiences during childhood that cause them to not be able to place their trust in adults. Instead they choose to be completely self-reliant which may include not accepting handouts like free or reduced housing options from the government or any other resource.

The trauma foster youth often experience also leads to severe mental health problems. One study concluded, “The range of mental health issues that is evident among foster children is vast and varied, and includes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic and anxiety disorders, major depression and drug/alcohol abuse” (Howard). The same study also found that it is estimated that almost 80% of children in the foster care system suffer from a significant mental health issue. Foster youth who struggle with mental health concerns often try to hide their concerns because they want to try to seem self-reliant. Because foster youth often refuse help, they are left to learn to cope with significant mental health issues on their own. That can lead to higher incarceration rates and a difficulty finding and keeping jobs (Nybell et al. 293). Once youth age out of the foster care system there is usually no one on their side to defend them or advocate for their mental health issues. They are left on their own and without treatment their conditions can continue to get worse. With no significant adult relationships in their lives these youth generally have nobody to help them learn management skills and receive the help they need.

There are many services that work to pair foster youth with one stable adult figure to be a mentor or advisee for that youth. However, “…a connection to just one adult is insufficient to meet the relational and support needs of youth” (Best 1). Foster youth have often experienced abuse from a trusted adult in their childhood and as a result have a difficult time trusting and opening up to adults (Hokanson et al. 143). Adults must be extremely patient and calm when earning a foster youth’s trust. Many youths in foster care have been taking care of younger siblings for long periods of time and had to grow up early to be able to survive from young ages (Hokanson et al. 153). They have been on their own or taking care of younger children for so long that they view themselves as completely independent and believe that they can survive on their own without help. “These children maintain the idea that caregivers are a source of inconsistency and fear, not a source of safety or nurture. This viewpoint…results in inconsistent relationships and difficulty forming and maintaining relationships” (Miranda et al. 399). Foster youth develop self-reliance skills at a young age and close their walls to avoid being hurt by adults again. Once youth age out of the system they have an even more difficult time forming relationships. They have a hard time keeping jobs and housing because they feel like they cannot open up to or trust anyone in their lives. They keep everyone at arm’s length and because they lose their case worker and assistance when they age out, they are often left all alone with no one to help them. This is why it is so important for mentors to take the time to create strong relationships with foster youth before they age out of the system.

Three leading issues that foster youth face after aging out of the foster care system in the United States are homelessness, mental health issues, and poor adult relationships. Youth often have no support or known resources when they age out of foster care and many would not use the resources or accept aid if they did know about it. These youth often end up homeless due to an inability to keep jobs and other factors such as a strong sense of self-reliance. They can struggle with significant mental health issues such as post traumatic stress disorder due to the trauma they witness and experience as children. That trauma also causes them to have little to no close relationships with other adults because they struggle to trust adults in their lives. Foster youth need to be nurtured and supported to allow for a positive transition out of care and to the next chapter of their lives.

Works Cited

1. Best, Jared I., and Jennifer E. Blakeslee. “Perspectives of Youth Aging out of Foster Care on Relationship Strength and Closeness in Their Support Networks.” Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 108, 2020, p. 104626., doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104626.
2. “Foster Care Facts and Figures.” Families Helping Families of Iowa, 2 Sept. 2020, www.familieshelpingfamiliesofiowa.org/about/facts-figures/.
3. “From Foster Home to Homeless.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, June 2014, www.aecf.org/resources/from-foster-home-to-homeless/.
4. Hokanson, Kim, et al. “Not Independent Enough’: Exploring the Tension Between Independence and Interdependence among Former Youth in Foster Care Who Are Emerging Adults.” Child Welfare, vol. 97, no. 5, Sept. 2019, pp. 141-157. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true