Category: Foster Care

Foster care entails rescuing children from reckless parents and guardians and placing them under the care of the specialized organizations that would link them to individuals who might be in need of children in their lives. This implies that children in foster care organizations come from families with several social problems that are sometimes unbearable for young persons under the age of eighteen.

Some of the factors that might lead the state agencies in charge of overseeing the welfare of children to initiate foster care include abandonment and sexual, emotional, or physical mistreatment (Crow, 2013). Children are placed under foster care services until they attain the age of eighteen when they have the capacity to make major decisions affecting their lives, as well as providing for themselves the basic needs.

Additionally, some children might be in need of specialized supervisions owing to their delinquent behavior while some might be struggling with issues related to domestic violence, drug abuse, and mental problems. All these would call for specialized care implying that children would be in need of counseling services to enable them cope with the challenges in society.

Once a child is put under the foster care program, he or she would be expected to attend school and be involved in any activity that befits any child in the community. Issues of child labor and mistreatment are greatly reduced and the child would definitely grow up to be a responsible citizen. Studies show that a child who went through any form of abuse would most likely be a delinquent and might end up being a criminal in society.

On the other hand, adoption is a lifelong commitment that an individual makes to a child (Gibson, 2009). Consequently, an adopting family is usually given a legal permission to offer critical services to the child, such as care, protection, security, and comfort.

Adoption is viewed as the only way of offering a child the maximum level of permanency since foster care services are often temporary and are viewed as a short-term solution to the problems that abused children go through (Twohey, 2013). Once a child is taken to a foster care institution and adoption takes place successfully, pre and post adoption services are critical for the new family.

Services, such as joining support groups, information sharing, referral programs, training, and home studies are very important, as it would give the new family members a chance to know each other well.

The role of the human services professional is to understand the behavior and the expectations of each party in the adoption agreement and offer appropriate information to avoid misunderstanding in the future( Lawrence, Carlson, & Egeland, 2006).. For instance, the adopting family will want to know the real parents of the child, the siblings, relatives, and any health complication.

One of the most important post adoption programs is mentoring programs, which are provided by several state and federal organizations across the country. Under the program, the human services worker aspires to introduce the adopting family to other existing families living under the adoption arrangements.

This helps in building confidence, as both the child and his or her new family come to the realization that adoption is possible. Research shows that adopting families are often in doubt whether the arrangement works (Suppes, & Wells, 2012). Linking one family with an adopted child to the other has a potential of creating a lasting relationship.

If a child adopted has any form of physical challenge, the family will be introduced to a state or federal program that offers specialized services to the physically challenged individuals. As noted earlier, referral services are needed whereby a human services worker with critical knowledge on adoption is requested to monitor the situation until the family gels.

If additional counseling services are needed, the social worker would advice accordingly. Human services workers have sufficient knowledge to offer to parents after adoption. For instance, the expert is to offer short-term case management and advocacy where the parents will be shown how to deal with issues without necessarily destabilizing the child.

Peaceful problem solving techniques are difficult to master and parents have to be taken through a training process to ensure that they offer appropriate guidance to children. Finally, parents must understand the education opportunities available to them just after adopting the child.

State and federal institutions offer courses on adoption, but the social worker would select the most appropriate and encourage the parents to pursue them.

Foster care and adoption are closely related, but they are very different concepts whose major aim is to save children from injustices and abuse. Foster care rescues children from the hands of oppressive parents or guardians implying that it offers short-term solution to the problem whereas adoption provides a lasting solution whereby a child is linked to parents who would in turn guide him or her in life.

Just after rescuing the child, the human services worker has to design programs that would help the child cope with the new environment. Before adoption, counseling is necessary to iron out some of the unclear issues while post adoption programs encourage harmonious co-existence.

References

Crow, R. (2013). Believing in love and Dreams for children in foster care. The Huffington Post. Web.

Gibson, K. (2009). Differential parental investment in families with both adopted and genetic children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 30(3), 184189.

Lawrence, C.R., Carlson, E.A., & Egeland, B. (2006). The impact of foster care on development. Development and Psychopathology, 18(1), 5776.

Suppes, M.A., & Wells, C.C. (2012). The Social Work experience: An Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare. New York: Pearson.

Twohey, M. (2013). Adoption group calls for US laws to stop online child trading. Reuters. Web.

Foster care is a system in which an underage in need is placed into a foster family or childrens family home for upbringing on a paid basis. Today, health and foster care organizations are trying to control thousands of troubled children in an inappropriate wayby giving them untested and often not approved for children psychiatric drugs (De Sa). To see how foster care children drugging affects adopting these children, and its overall impact on the families in the US, children drugging phenomena in California and New Yorktwo states with high unacceptable drug prescription should be considered.

Foster Care in California

Every year about a quarter of million children in the US enter foster care. Almost twenty percent of themin California. There, twenty-five percent of adolescents receive untested psychotropics, which is four times more than anywhere else in the US (Zlotnick et al.). De Sa says that today, foster system care in California has grown dependent on quick-fix, taxpayer-funded, big-profit pharmaceuticals& (par. 6).

Drugging of Children

Caregivers usually use drugs to calm down children who have poor mental health. However, most of the time no one mentions these medications dangerous side effects such as obesity and diabetes. Also, there are cases of persistent tics and brain shrinkage (De Sa).

Californias Foster Care Drug Costs

Californias foster care population is twice as big as the population of foster care in New York which has the second-largest foster care community nationwide. Over the past ten years, California spent over $200 million on psychotropic drugs, which is about 70 percent of total foster care drug spending in the US (De Sa).

Increasing the Use of Antipsychotics

Over the past decade, sixty percent of children were given antipsychotics. These drugs should be prescribed for people with severe mental diseases. However, the doctors give them to California foster children with behavior problems (De Sa).

Medication of Young Children

Even though the federal government admits drugs are not safe for children, thousands of kids under five years old have been given the psychotropics. Over the past decade in California about 300 thousand children have been prescribed these drugs each year (De Sa).

Medication in Group Homes

Today, fifty percent of foster kids in Californias group homes are given psychotropic drugs. Children who refuse to take medications are punished. The punishments are very harsh. For example, punished children are not allowed to leave the building (De Sa).

Several Drugs at a Time

De Sa states that 12.2 percent of California foster children who received a psychiatric drug in 2013 were prescribed two, three, four or more psychotropic medications at a time  up from 10.1 percent in 2004 (par. 16). Such drug multiplying usually remains unnoticed falling into uncharted medical history (De Sa).

The Beginning of Prescriptions

The psych medication for a foster child can begin with the prescription for stimulants. However, during the crisis the drugging increases (De Sa).

Attempts to Resolve the Drugging Problem

In the year 2012, in California, the government has started the investigation of foster care doctors mistreatment. The governor of California has signed the controversial bill later. The bill says that doctors who prescribed children more than two psychotropic medications at a time are at risk of losing their doctors licenses.

Foster Care in New York

There is no much difference between California and New York foster care systems, and particularly in drugging children. Doctors treat children as people with schizophrenia. Former foster youth says that nobody liked to be sent to hospitals (Edelman and Petty).

Doctors Rejection

When the doctors are questioned about drugging children in foster care, they deny the accusations, saying that medications are used only for necessary medical reasons, not to sedate children (Edelman and Petty). However, sedative drugs can be prescribed to kids in crisis. Dr. Julie Holland mentions that if someone gets out of control and becomes dangerous for themselves and others, they would be given an injection (Edelman and Petty).

Attempts to Resolve the Drugging Problem in New York

Several attempts to change the drugging phenomenon were made in different states including New York. The doctors who proved to be high-prescribing were dismissed. However, this did not produce any results.

Warehousing Children

Children who are already taken from their parents but not yet placed in foster homes are forced to live in shelters with horrible conditions. For example, they sleep in rooms with 12 beds in them. They are checked with metal detectors upon entry, and they are not allowed to go out or come back after midnight. Some of the insiders compare these shelters with prisons (Edelman and Petty).

Foster Care Drugging Impact on the Families in the US

Grown-Ups after Foster care

Mostly, children are taken to the foster care and become isolated from society at a very young age. That isolation plays a significant role in their lives after leaving foster care. There are even more issues that make former foster children unable to create families and cope with the society. Only New York state foster care, for example, discharges about 4 thousand children who have reached the age of eighteen every year.

Getting Back to Ordinary Life

After leaving foster care, children face the outside life which is not so happy as it may seem. They are abandoned and completely alone. After growing up in shelters, some children cannot find the way to cope with their new life (Breggin).

Mental Problems

After starting to live on their own, most of the former foster children experience mental illnesses. They are frustrated, depressed, and anxious. These kids usually become angry and feel persistent sadness. (Breggin).

Drug Addiction

In foster care children often become drug addicted. When they find themselves on the streets of the city, they continue to use drugs. They cannot help their addiction (Breggin).

Aggression

Children become aggressive due to their mental condition. As a result, when they do not have money to buy drugs they try to take it by force or steal the money to buy it. A lot of these children end up in prisons (Zlotnick et al.).

Poor Social Skills

Children who overcome mental diseases and drug addiction are also not guaranteed to turn their life. They are not adapted to the life in society. After years of isolation in foster care, they do not know how to act properly (Edelman and Petty).

Overweight

One of the side effects of psychotropics prescription is gaining extra weight. When it comes to relationships and attempts to create a family, extra weight becomes a significant issue (De Sa).

Teen Pregnancies

Former foster care children are more likely to have teen pregnancies. They are not ready to grow a baby. Pregnancies worsen their mental problems. (Breggin).

Absence of Knowledge and Parenting Skills

Former foster children are unable to properly care for a child due to lack of the knowledge and experience needed. They were raised in the shelters where the upbringing was rough (Edelman and Petty). They do not know how to raise a baby and prepare it for life in the modern society.

Child Abuse

Poor emotional health combined with the lack of parenting skills can cause aggression which leads to child abuse (Zlotnick et al.). It is very hard to stay calm even for people with stable mentality while caring a baby, not to mention depressed and irascible former foster care children.

Giving Birth Being Drug Addicted

Teen pregnancies may have serious consequences. First, drugs that mother is taking are very dangerous for the fetus. If a mother takes drugs while pregnant, the fetus feels their impact too. Using cocaine, for example, may cause heart attacks. Also, taking drugs during pregnancy increases the possibility of stillborn birth (Breggin).

Growing Children Being Drug Addicted

When a child is already born, he or she will grow with addicted parents. Among the possible dangers of drug addiction and alcoholism are violent behavior, verbal and sexual abuse, lack of attention to a child and his or her needs. It also may lead to leaving a newborn alone. (Breggin).

The Consequences

Children who grown up in dysfunctional families are most likely to have the same fate as their parents. They do not get a proper education, they have poor mental and physical health, they take drugs and very often end up in prisons.

Cycle of Abuse

It is critical to understand that the violence of people who abuse children might come from being abused in their childhood. Children follow the violent behavior of their parents. That is why when they grow up they treat their children the same.

Conclusion

To see how foster care children drugging affects adopting these children, and its overall impact on the families in the US, children drugging phenomena in California and New Yorktwo states with high, unacceptable drug prescription should be considered. California has the highest rate of foster care drug spending, despite the measures taken. The measures of New York state have not proved to work either. Drugging worsens health, causing overweight, drug addiction, depression, suicidal behavior and aggression. After forcible drug prescription and living locked in cramped houses, children who leave foster care cannot turn their lives. These children also create families having poor social and parenting skills. This leads to child abuse. Upbringing in dysfunctional families worsens mental health and sometimes turns former foster childrens kids into sociopaths and child abusers.

Works Cited

Breggin, Peter. The Psychiatric Drugging of Americas Foster Children. CCHR. Web.

Edelman, Susan, and Rachel Petty. Disturbed Kids at City Foster-Care Center Drugged at Hospital. New York Post, 2016. Web.

De Sa, Karen. Drugging our Kids. The Mercury News, 2014. Web.

Zlotnick, Cheryl, Tammy W. Tam, and Laurie A. Soman. Life Course Outcomes on Mental and Physical Health: The Impact of Foster Care on Adulthood. American Journal of Public Health, vol. 102 no. 3, 2012: pp. 534-540.

Abstract

Efforts at child protection are structured by the policy regimes in which they are enmeshed (Edwards, 2016). According to Nesmith, Patton, Christophersen, & Smart (2017), the goal of the US foster care system is to provide safe, stable, nurturing home environments for children who cannot safely live with their family of origin. Child welfare wanted to come up with an achievement that would help the foster system. This provoked the idea of having a child go from foster care to adoption and guardianship. Rolock, Perez, White, & Fong (2018) states a significant challenge of the twenty-first century child welfare system is how to ensure the well being of children currently living with adoptive parents or guardians. Finances through the system was what caused a few issues. Efforts to reform child welfare financing have emerged in recent years according to Russell (2015). However, the standard rates for foster parents is still in question. There is currently no federal minimum rate nor standard methodology to establish adequate rates to support foster parents to meet these children’s needs (Ahn, DePanfilis, Frick, & Barth, (2017). Even though things are still getting figured out throughout the child welfare, one thing is for sure and that is foster care is a need in the Untied States.

Foster Care

The foster care system is considered a tool used when children must be separated from their parents or current guardian and put in an alternative caregiver’s hands. This helps minimize abuse and neglect to the children from their original guardian. There is a child protection policy that takes place when this occurs, and it is to ensure children and the families involved receive the services and support they need. Having control on how a parent a handle threatening child, punishment, and manipulating situations is key to child protection. States use child welfare agencies to control parenting because according to Edwards (2016) they do so by establishing a system for the surveillance of child maltreatment. This is considered a process that they use and if violations are made, the case can be investigated but it would stay classified so that everything can be handled in the best way for both the parents and children involved. Child welfare agencies rely on a diffuse surveillance network of voluntary observers and various categories of professionals (Edwards, 2016). If a caseworker finds the child or children involved in a danger, the caseworker had the power to make the call to have the child or children removed from their guardian and into state’s custody. The foster care system then will go and find a temporary home for the children involved. Edwards (2016) states that normally it would be with extended family. A non-relative foster home, a group home, or a more restrictive institutional setting such as a residential treatment center. The family or juvenile court involved with the case is the one to decide whether the child will permanently be separated from the guardian they were originally taken from, or if they will eventually be reunited under their guardianship again.

Evening though children are removed and put into foster care, the state still allows, in most cases, family visits. Nesmith, Patton, Christophersen, & Smart (2017) mentions that it is the primary venue to sustain the parent-child bond, assess parenting skills and progress towards family reunification. By providing consistent visits, it can also help with adjustment for both parent and child. It can motivate the parent to want to change their ways to prove to the parent to want to change their ways to prove to the state they are ready to take their child back in their care. It also can help the child when it comes to their behavior while in foster care. According to Nesmith et al. (2017), their research from Cantos et al. (1997); McWey et al. (2010) noted that children exhibit fewer internalizing behaviors such as withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety or depression, and fewer externalizing behaviors such as delinquency or aggression. Even though this works for some families, not every case ends in requirement. Some children leave foster care by adoption or guardianship. Rolock, Perez, White, & Fong (2018) states when children are adopted, parental rights are terminated whereas in cases of guardianship, parental rights may or may not be terminated. Children involved in the child welfare system were important to the state to ensure safety when getting adopted. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) was designed to prioritize legal permanence for foster children while also ensuring their safety. (Rolock et al., 2018).

When a child is placed into the state’s custody, it is for their safety and to make sure all their needs are provided. Foster care homes are an importance as well when it comes to the children entering the child welfare system. Foster parents spend a lot of their hard-working money to support the foster child or children. According to Ahn, DePanfilis, Frick, & Barth (2018) in 2007, a study called MARC was created to establish foster care minimum adequate rates for children. This study was based off the child’s age and where they lived in the United States. When the MARC study was updated in 2016, with the cost of living changes, the changes in the gaps between foster care and the MARC, and the updating of the states and their increased reinburement rates it had different results. The results stated that all but four states provided lower foster care reimbursement rates than the adequate costs in 2016 (Ahn et al., 2018). This is an issue because it can hold back many fostering opportunities because the foster rates should be increased to assist the children’s needs. According to Ahn et al. (2018), the foster care MARC excludes expenses related to the cost of travel to administrative and judicial reviews and health care appointments. In order to fix this situation there needs to be an increase in foster care reimbursement, a setting of minimum foster care rates needs to be enforced, there needs to be strengthening in the foster care funding’s, and it can be fixed by setting the state level policies to adopt a child or children in foster care to be covered in cost by MARC and also the caring costs for the children. Adequate foster care reimbursement rates can lower financial burdens on foster parents (Ahn et al., 2018).

Critics argue that because foster care can be subsidized but preventing and reunification programs cannot, practice tends to rely more on foster care (Russell, 2015). Funding seem to be an issue when it comes to a family making the decision to take in, or even adopt a foster child. According to Rolock, Perez, White, & Fong (2018), ASFA occurred at a time when the number of children in foster care was on the rise. A few children had the Title IV-E assistance which is when the federal payments for foster care and adoption is taken is helped out by the Social Security Act (SSA). Social Security Act helps funds a lot of the foster care costs. However, Rolock et al. (2018) states a significant number of children in the foster care was without Title IV-E assistance because they did not meet the Title IV-E eligibility criterion. Due to these situations, the foster care tries to focus on reunification with the original guardian or parent. Nesmith, Patton, Christophersen, & Smart (2017) states “family reunification is the permanency goal for the majority of children in foster care” (p.246). The state isn’t trying to separate families to destroy them, they try to focus on the safety of the children and getting the parents back on track so they can become stable to take back the responsibilities. Consistent and frequent visiting correlates with stronger parent-child attachment, which, in turn, is related to better adjustment (Nesmith et al., 2017). Foster care is a tool that was created to help with child protection. Child protection is the dominant means through which states seek to control the behavior of parents and ensure the welfare of children (Edwards, 2016).

References

1. Ahn, Haksoon, DePanfilis, Diane, Frick, Kevin, Barth, P. Richard (2018). Estimating Minimum Adequate Foster Care Costs For Children In The United States. Children and Youth Services Review,84, 55-67. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.10.045
2. Edwards, Frank (2016). Saving Children, Controlling Families. American Sociological Review,81(3), 575-595. doi:10.1177/0003122416638652
3. Nesmith, Ande, Patton, Ruth, Christophersen, Kaitlin, Smart, Claire (2017). Promoting quality parent-child visits: the power of the parent-foster parent relationship. Child & Family Social Work (CHILD FAM SOC WORK),22(1), 246-255. doi:10.1111/cfs.12230
4. Rolock, Nancy, Pérez, Alfred G., White, Kevin R., Fong, Rowena (2018). From Foster Care to Adoption and Guardianship: A Twenty-First Century Challenge. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal,35(1), 11-20. doi: 10.1007/s10560-017-0499-z
5. Russell, Jesse (2015). Child Welfare Finance and Foster Care Outcomes. Journal of Public Child Welfare,9(2),134-152. doi: 10.1080/15548732.2015.1022277

Benjamin Eaton was America’s first foster child at 7 years old. Since then, Charles Loring Brace started the free foster home movement in 1853. Now, there is approximately 440,000 foster youth nationwide. When it comes to the topic of foster care, most experts will readily agree that emancipating youth do become homeless. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of why they become homeless. Whereas some are convinced that it is due to their behavior, others maintain that the foster care system does not provide the necessary training in assisting emancipating youth transitioning into adulthood.

Firstly, Amy Dworsky and Mark Courtney have PhDs in Social Welfare. With Dworsky’s experience in researching vulnerable youth populations, they studied the percentage of youth who were homeless once emancipating out of care from Arizona, California, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Washington State, and Nevada. They identified the different factors and previous data on how youth transition out of the foster care system and into adulthood. They argue that little is known about how different demographic, familial background or placement history characteristics either contribute or protect against homelessness in the transition into adulthood, which limits their research. However, they found that the absence of familial relationships or even a guiding adult figure in their life is a contributing factor to the youth who become homeless. From this, they conducted a longitudinal study on 732 youth from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois transitioning out of the foster care system. 14% of the youth became homeless. From a policy perspective, Dworsky and Courtney think that states should use their Chafee dollars to provide housing assistance to foster youth after they leave care. In addition to their study, they looked at placement history characteristics such as educational challenges, differences between those who exit with a high school diploma or GED, and those who don’t, psychological problems (mental health or substance use), and social support/relationships. Ron Haskins, who studies the economic impact on children and families in the foster care system, referenced the study conducted by Dworsky and Courtney and verifies that without family relationships or a guiding adult figure, children often act out and are resistant to adult supervision. He argues that foster kids are the most disadvantaged kids in the nation. As the co-director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, he advocates for CHAMPS, a national campaign that will advocate for quality foster parenting by reforming state policies, promoting federal policies, and educating the public on the issues at hand. Haskins believes that CHAMPS is a wonderful initiative that will improve foster parenting, which is what foster youth need. Without a family environment and structure, foster kids are left to group homes and institutions, where they do not feel supported and loved.

Adoption is a great way for kids to exit the foster system. Out of the 440,000 foster children in America, roughly 100,000 are eligible for adoption. However, the process is very lengthy and there are not enough families willing to adopt. The National Council for Adoption (NCFA) publishes articles in their journal called Adoption Advocate. Nicholas Zill, a doctoral student researcher at UC Berkeley believes that adoption positively benefits children, but also saves money in the short and long term. By writing, “Comparing the per-child cost of subsidized adoption from foster care with the cost of maintaining a child in foster care, one concludes that the child adopted from foster care costs the public only 40 percent as much as the child who remains in foster care. The difference in cost per child per year amounts to $15,480” (pg 2), Zill proves the amount the public can save, appealing for them to think about adoption and advocate for it as well. He believes that adoptive families are less likely than foster or biological families to have income below the poverty level. He encourages child welfare agencies to consider connecting foster children to adoptive families rather than reunifying them with biological family members when it is not ideal, especially when it is not in the child’s best interests. However, Wayne Winston Sharp, who was appointed Chairman of the NCFA’s task force on foster care in 2013, wants to increase public awareness of the youth who are not adopted from foster care. He reminds us that society rises and falls together. When youth drop out of high school or fail to seek higher education or careers, they earn $10,386 less than the typical high school graduate (Sharp pg. 5). This significant difference decreases high school dropout’s standard of living. Furthermore, Sharp argues that extending foster care until the age of 21 paves the way for more opportunities. He applauds the 26 states who understand the benefits of extending care and who extended financial support from 18 to 21. The NCFA’s Task Force factors for success are: Leadership by the Governor, and top public officials, in making adoption out of foster care a personal priority, and the establishment of partnerships with private adoption and faith-based organizations to stretch or save public funds. Sharp’s argument is ideal since it will support the kids who have aged out financially, and guide them. His line of reasoning uses emotionally appeals to readers and proves the economic benefits of adoption.

While adoption is one of the best ways for kids to exit the foster care system, Charles A. Williams understands that not all foster children will be adopted out of the system. He insists on implementing mentoring programs. Williams grew up in the foster care system and champions adoption as a way to achieve permanence for children whose parents cannot care for them. He argues that these mentoring programs guide youth to establish healthy relationships, develop self-esteem, teach social skills, and encourage goal setting, which possibly leads to high academic achievement. Additionally, he urges the child welfare system to transition its focus from short-term to long-term, meaning that instead of only focusing on removing children from a poor home environment (violence, abuse, neglect, etc.), the welfare system should aim to prevent those youth from facing negative outcomes (homelessness). In his conclusion, Williams introduces the role of policymakers and legislators, which is to fund programs that focus on positive outcomes for the foster youth population. The system America has in place is not working well and the essence of Williams’ argument is that the child welfare system needs to focus on preventing these negative outcomes by mentoring those who are not adopted or taken into a good foster family and training foster children to become good citizens. Joseph J. Doyle, Jr. and Anna Aizer agree, by claiming that economic approaches are necessary to evaluate child welfare programs since it incorporates cost-benefit analyses as a natural discussion point. Elizabeth Steffel who survived childhood abuse and foster care brought up another option. She believes that states need to create more transitional living programs, which guides emancipated teens to find jobs, provides housing assistance, and teaches valuable life skills.

Past research and studies prove that America’s foster care system is lacking what is needed to create positive outcomes for foster youth. Emancipating out of foster care is the fate of many foster youth, but looking at the situation economically, adoption is the best option for foster kids and the public as it saves money.

Have you ever heard anything dealing with the issues of the foster care system lately? Well, to begin with, the foster care system, is a government program where children are placed in if they ever become an orphan or are taken custody of by the child protective services. Each year thousands of children are placed in foster care each year and the majority of them enter the system due to neglect or abuse. All of these children need to deal with the rejection and separation of their parents and sometimes that causes other issues that make the child more vulnerable. Failure to find a satisfactory and suitable foster care arrangement can be as detrimental to a child as the environment from which he or she was removed. As a former foster youth, I have dealt with many challenges stemming from the foster care system that include psychological disorders and social issues in which don’t allow me to live well on a day to day basis. However, I strive to overcome them by seeing my psychologist and guidance counselor that can help me with my depression and anxiety. While there are those that may argue that the current foster care system is helping children with emotional and financial support that can help them succeed in life, that isn’t all true, due to the fact that thousands of foster youths are facing extensive challenges when trying to start their own lives.

The current foster care system today does not provide adequate support to foster children exiting the system that would allow them to have a successful future and become successful individuals. As a matter of fact, resources such as employment opportunities and low cost housing, can enable foster youth to find and build their own lives. However since there isn’t enough funding and representation for the foster care system, it has only gotten worse year after year. According to Krebs, “Each year tens of thousands of teenagers are released from the foster care system in the United States without high school degrees or strong family relationships” (Krebs 26). Betsy Krebs and Paul Pitcoff from Rutgers University Press, address to society in their book, that every community should participate and advocate for disadvantaged youth who face obstacles on a daily basis. Beyond The Foster Care System, informs readers about foster youths who have become successful and let’s us know how we can help more age out of the system on the right path to success. Personally, in my experience when I aged out of the foster care system I was met with the right people that helped me go to college and successfully start a new chapter in my life as an individual. It breaks my heart whenever I see a former foster youths living in poverty or not have a job, because they never aged out of the system in the right footing like I did. Remember in life, we are not equipped or ready to go through this world alone, and we always need someone that can guide us towards becoming successful individuals.

In today’s society many americans have never worried about the state of the foster care system, in fact they worry about other problems that actually affect their lives, and this is the reason that it has many problems associated with it. As a matter of fact, I rarely see the current problems of the foster care system getting talked about in the media. No wonder the foster care system is in bad shape, and is extremely broken apart from its original plan. The authors, Christina Leber and Craig Winston Lecroy, did a study in order to find what’s the public’s perception of the foster care system. After doing their study, the results determined that society deemed the issues related to the foster care system as less significant compared to other societal problems.In the end, Leber and Lecroy want to bring awareness to society in order to resolve problems associated with the foster care system. “Respondents indicated a larger body of knowledge regarding the foster care system than was initially expected. However, when comparing the foster care system to other national social issues, respondents consistently placed the foster care system as less important and less serious than other social issues”(Leber & Lecroy 2). The authors Martha Shirk and Gary Strangler, both from the Westview Press argue that society should help out foster youths and grant them opportunities that other young people take for granted. These include affordable housing, higher education, and medical care. Overall this book makes a call of duty, to society and to law and policy makers, that’s should care about every youth’s future including foster youths. “For many youth raised in foster care, it means largely unhappy endings, including sudden homelessness, unemployment, dead-end jobs, loneliness and despair” (Shirk and Strangler 32). In addition, when it comes to dealing with the foster care system, it has nearly always been forgotten among society than other societal issues, not that there less important, but it should be addressed more often to society so there can be a change.

The foster care system today, doesn’t provide foster youth who aged out of the system with the proper housing opportunities that they can take advantage of and have a steady life. The rate of homelessness for foster care youth is excessively high and many don’t have the resources to strive for a higher education. The author Thorn Reilly, proposes to inform society, specifically the government in her study about how a large portion of the foster youth leaving the system, find it hard leaving and transitioning to make a life on their own. Richards implies that we need better programs and opportunities for these youths, so they can make a healthy transition into their own lives. “Although youth reported exposure to independent living training while in care, few reported concrete assistance” (Reilly 727). Gabrielle Richards in her study, recounts two stories of Michael and Emily, who aged out of the foster care system. The article also examines the report from the housing development and compares it with the stories of two former foster youth who have encountered obstacles because they weren’t given the right opportunities towards having their own homes. Both Michael and Emily couldn’t afford to pay for housing even though their education was covered for college. In the end, this article brings awareness to the public about the housing problems associated with the foster care system. “Each year, about 30,000 foster care youths age out of the foster care system. Many of them exit without finding a stable, affordable, permanent living arrangement” (Richards 19). In addition, the foster care system still isn’t providing its aging youths enough housing programs that enables them to have a proper home, because there isn’t sufficient funding and contribution from the government and society.

All in all, youths exiting foster care definitely need social, emotional and financial support as they navigate the transition to their own independent adulthood. While there may be individuals who believe that the foster care system today is helping youths succeed in life, that isn’t the case due to the fact that it lacks all the essentials of what it actually is meant to do, and that is to help disadvantaged foster children succeed in life after enduring the challenge of not having that strong parental support from their biological parents. The current foster system definitely needs more funding, so it can provide foster youths with the right opportunities and resources that they can take advantage of and become successful. These resources include educational, housing, and financial support. So now that I have explained what are the problems associated with the foster care system, and how we can resolve them now it is your chance to do something about this in your community. I understand that foster parenting is not for everybody, however anyone can do something to help out foster youth in need. From helping foster youth with tutoring to helping foster youth find housing programs, each and everyone of us can make a difference in our communities. Don’t forget that, “helping one person might not change the whole world, but it could change the world for one person”(Feldhusen).

Works Cited

1. Feldhusen, Mary. “Health System Friday Flash Report.” Helping One Person Might Not Change the Whole World, but It Could Change the World for One Person, 3 Nov. 2017, www.utmb.edu/fridayflashreport/home/friday-flash-report/2017/11/03/helping-one-person-might-not-change-the-whole-world-but-it-could-change-the-world-for-one-person.
2. Leber, Christina, and Craig Winston LeCroy. “Public Perception of the Foster Care System: a National Study.” Children and Youth Services Review, no. 9, 2012, p. 1633. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.296469253&site=eds-live
3. Krebs, Betsy, and Paul Pitcoff. Beyond The Foster Care System : The Future for Teens. Rutgers University Press, 2006. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=172289&site=eds-live.
4. Morris, Catherine. “From Foster Care to Higher Ed: Field Center at the University of Pennsylvania Advocates for Former Foster Youth Planning to Attend Local Colleges.” Diverse Issues in Higher Education, no. 19, 2017, p. 8. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.512184878&site=eds-live
5. Reilly, Thorn. “Transition from Care: Status and Outcomes of Youth Who Age Out of Foster Care.”Child Welfare, vol. 82, no. 6, Nov. 2003, pp. 727–746. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=11448904&site=eds-live
6. Richards, Gabrielle. “AGING OUT’ GRACEFULLY: Housing and Helping Youth Transition Smoothly out of the Foster Care System.” Journal of Housing & Community Development, vol. 71, no. 4, July 2014, pp. 18–21. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=97600844&site=eds-live.
7. Shirk, Martha, and Gary J. Stangler. On Their Own : What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System? Westview Press, 2004. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat01617a&AN=bclc.71707&site=eds-live.

Approximately 700,00 children are abused each year in the United States. (National Children’s Alliance) Fortunately, there are organizations that have been put in place to help intervene in the event that parents are reported for potential maltreatment of their children. With good intentions, the foster care system was put in place to protect these children, and save as many children as they can, however it can prolong their trauma and prevent them from moving on and living like regular kids; further inhibiting their inclusion in society.

There can be many situations in which it is necessary for a child to be placed in foster care, all falling under the umbrella of abuse and/or neglect. These most often include physical and sexual abuse, overall neglect (usually regarding malnutrition and living conditions), medical neglect, incarceration of guardians, abandonment, parental addiction or incarceration, or even truancy (frequent and unnecessary absence from school). Today, in most of these cases, children are removed from their homes and moved into the foster care system, where they can be readjusted to live with a family who will properly care for these children. (Brookings) These alternative living conditions can be short term, until a parent can sort out their affairs and learn about more effective parenting skills. In other cases, this arrangement must be adapted for long term situations, in which the child can live with another more prepared family member, can live in a group home, can be adopted, or even soon become old enough to live independently and attempt to support themselves.

This system, however, has many flaws. The child welfare agencies that try to offer “better” care for the kids often fail. This is usually due to the fact that they are poorly funded, and although with good intentions, end up trying to care for more children than they can handle, causing severe overcrowding of these foster homes. This also prevents the child’s needs and wishes from being heard and fulfilled, being placed in homes that can be just as harmful as their original ones. It can also be extremely difficult to find a family that is willing to accept responsibility and care for these children. Few couples selflessly volunteer to care for another parent’s child, especially difficult or defiant ones. Of the couples who wish to adopt, (most often due to infertility) few of them are successful as the process to match a parent with a child is grueling; requiring a steady and considerable income, strong health, a permanent living space that will be evaluated to determine if it is safe for the child, marital requirements (depending on the state or country) and even educational requirements. Although these requirements are put in place to protect both the families and the children, this is another factor that prevents children from being placed in proper care.

In addition, parents looking to adopt often focus on the youngest of the children, leaving the older children to wallow in these group homes. The remaining of the kids either bounce in and out, between various homes, never finding a permanent solution, or are stuck there until they turn eighteen and are released into the world to figure life out for themselves; even when they lack the crucial support they need during those critical years. When it comes to the younger children, this separation and constant moving can cause severe harm to a child in development. This trauma at a young age causes severe problems later in their life such as aggression, anxiety, trust issues, antisocial behaviour, mood swings and insomnia. For babies, this neglect, separation as well as frequent moving can cause issues with their cognition, motor skills, speech and emotional behaviour. These abandoned children often grow up with a feeling of not being wanted, cast out or useless and irrelevant.

As an alternative to this system, many have been advocating for the return of orphanages. These people argue that orphanages are far better for children, as it offers them a longer term, more consistent placement, where the children can interact together and support each other in a stable environment. Others prefer the newly dubbed “cottage system”, one similar to orphanages but instead of one large establishment, one that is divided into smaller homes or “cottages” where caretakers can provide closer more personal attention than a traditional orphanage. This solution combines the stability of an orphanage with the personal attention of a foster home, however it also costs far more than both systems.

Before completely rejecting the idea of maintaining our current foster care system, we must also celebrate the successes of the foster care system. Of the children placed in foster care, approximately 30% of them will be adopted. 10% of these kids will continue with their education and graduate from university. (Adoption Network) This totals to an extra ten to twenty thousand children receiving their university diploma that otherwise would never have had the chance to do so.

Despite all of the foster care system’s flaws, it can be very beneficial for a select few of these children. The lucky children will be able to learn how to survive independently, but more importantly how to adapt their lives to their circumstances. Even though this system is not perfect, these child welfare programs are the only ones that even offer a chance at survival for these children. It would of course be a fantasy to claim that these programs could save every child at risk, but the reality is that they offer a chance for these children to separate themselves from a harmful lifestyle and instead attempt to lead them down a more suitable path. Although the foster care system without a doubt needs to be adapted to solve its problems, if the program can even save just a fraction of the children, it is well worth all the resources and efforts poured into them to save them from their alternative.

Works Cited

1. “Adoption Statistics.” Adoption Network, Adoption Network Law Center, www.adoptionnetwork.com/adoption-statistics.
2. Allen, Barton S., and James S. Vacca. “Bring Back Orphanages-An Alternative to Foster Care?” Children and Youth Services Review, Pergamon, 9 Feb. 2011, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740911000399.
3. Azzi-Lessing, Lenette. “The Hidden Harms of the US Foster-Care System.” The Conversation, 20 Sept. 2019, www.theconversation.com/
4. “Canadian News Stories, Breaking News, Opinion.” HuffPost Canada, HuffPost Canada, www.huffingtonpost.ca/.
5. “Canadian Foster Care in Crisis, Experts Say | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 19 Feb. 2012, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadian-foster-care-in-crisis-experts-say-1.1250543.
6. Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care. “Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care.” American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Nov. 2000, www.pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/5/1145.
7. Dupere, Katie. “6 Problems with the Foster Care System — and What You Can Do to Help.” Mashable, 23 Aug. 2018, www.mashable.com/article/foster-care-problems/.
8. “Foster Care: The Basics.” Foster Care to Success: America’s College Fund for Foster Youth, www.fc2success.org/knowledge-center/foster-care-the-basics/.
9. Francis, Lizzy. “The Foster Care System Is Overcrowded and Struggling. Here’s Why.” Fatherly, 3 Jan. 2020, www.fatherly.com/love-money/adoption-foster-care-opiate-crisis/.
10. Haskins, Ron. “A National Campaign to Improve Foster Care.” Brookings, Brookings, 22 June 2017, www.brookings.edu/research/a-national-campaign-to-improve-foster-care/.
11. “National Statistics on Child Abuse.” National Children’s Alliance, www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/media-room/nca-digital-media-kit/national-statistics-on-child-abuse/.
12. “Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect.” Child Welfare Information Gateway, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Nov. 2018. www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/
13. “Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect Violence Prevention Injury Center CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Feb. 2019, www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html.
14. “Read ‘Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect’ at NAP.edu.” National Academies Press: OpenBook, www.nap.edu/read/2117/chapter/8#216.
15. “Why So Many Families Who Want To Adopt Can’t.” The Federalist, 18 Aug. 2016, www.thefederalist.com/2016/08/18/why-so-many-families-who-want-to-adopt-cant/.

Foster care system is one of the biggest crisis that America is facing today. Foster care refers to a minor who faced neglect or any abuse and is a place in a ward, group home, or a private home care giver. This event means the government has a sole custody of the child. The government governs the child’s well-being. Foster care was founded to provide the proper care of these children that were abused or neglected. According to the Psychology Today article (2017), “official statistics show as many as 28 percent of kids are abused while in the foster care system (Cavara & Ogren,2017).” This number can be even greater because most of these children are so vulnerable that they are conditioned not to speak up. Unfortunately, caseworkers are overwhelmed with the responsibilities of keeping up with their foster children, they are not given a limit to how many children they must monitor, and they also have to deal with the paperwork obligations. Since the staff of foster care are drowned with all these responsibilities in their hands, it results in the leniency in evaluation the condition of the foster home. Children who are in need deserve a better system. They already experience a troubled life before they entered in the system, and now that they entered in the foster care agency they get additional harm. These children deserve justice, better living conditions, and they need their needs met.

Brief History

Over the past fifteen years foster care agencies have been underfunded. Case workers have been overwhelmed by how many cases they have been assigned. “During my own time working with foster care agencies and group homes, I often witnessed the agency staff become overwhelmed with the number of children they were required to monitor -not to mention the pressure of completing mountains of paperwork”(Babbel, 2013).There are not enough recruitment of social workers. Foster parents are not properly trained to complete the needs of each child. This leads up children being moved around for multiple times. Sibling are also separated into different homes. This instability affect these children immensely especially children under five years old which are the largest groups to be placed in the system. “Foster children who have moved multiple times often develop detachment disorder: they become unable to attach to others as a defense mechanism”(Babbel, 2013). Stable early life plays a vital role of on the human development of these children. This will prevent long term behavior and emotional problems. Over the years the foster care system have been overcrowded. The government have not yet attempted to try to reunite these children with their biological families or place them with adoptive parents. Also children that are eighteen years and older are automatically discharged from foster care system without any legal help or supervision. “36 percent of youth in one study had been homeless at least once by age 26; nearly half of those youth had been homeless more than once and nearly 75 percent had been homeless four or more times”(NCSL, 2019).Before the discharge there are classes for teens to take to learn how to handle finances. The classes are still not enough. These children need help in the beginning of being independent. Once teens turn eighteen the foster care system tends to totally forget about them providing no help whatsoever.

Case Studies

Kendrea Johnson was placed in foster in March 2014. Her dad died in a drive by shooting and her mother was neglectful. The little girl would miss school a lot and would live in a trashed home in the care of her mother. She was eventually placed in the Brooklyn Park foster home of Tannise Nawaqavou. The child was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depersonalization and adjustment disorder while she was in the care of the Brooklyn Park foster home. Knowing that Kendrea needed these high needs she was still placed with an inexperienced foster mom with no training on how to care for a child with serious mental issues and what makes it worse there have been report of her foster mother physically abusing a child in 2000. The foster mother still was awarded a foster care license after the incident in 2000. When Kendrea was placed in the foster, there was a boy already staying there. The foster mom eventually reported a possible sexual encounter with Kendrea and the boy. She found Kendrea

partly naked with the boy in the home. The child protection records had this report but the workers did no investigation on this incident at all. They just brushed it off. There were also reports from the foster mother that Kendrea threatened to kill her with a screwdriver. Instead if taking the child to the proper care she needed the foster mother would lock her in her room instead. This would eventually lead to the suicidal thoughts that the little girl would often have. She would talk jumping out the window to her foster mother. In her art folder she even had a drawing of herself hanging from a rope. The little girl hung herself at just six years old. Knowing this, the foster care system did nothing to help this child. (Schmidt, 2018)

Naika Venant was placed into foster when she was six years old. Ever since the she has had an unstable environment. She was placed into foster care because her mother has beaten her with a belt. She has been placed with the mom a few times after that incident but it was unsuccessful. Naika has been placed more than a dozen times since the age of six years old. She was placed into group homes, foster homes and shelter. The teen was suffering from emotional distress and a dysfunctional relationship with her mother. Eventually this child ended up hanging herself publicly. Naika was on Facebook for more than two hours before committed suicide. Many people were urging her to do it. Sadly even her mom was watching her own daughter commit suicide. Her mom was even urging her to kill herself. Some viewers did in fact begged Naika to not commit suicide. Sadly the only person that was suppose to love her encouraged her to do it anyways which was her mother. Naika ended her life in January 2017 by hanging herself in the bathroom of the foster home she was staying at in Florida. After her death, there was a twenty page report published on the ways foster care could have prevented this from happening. Foster care system has failed to meet the needs of this child. (Phillips, 2017)

Elizabeth Henson was placed with foster mother Natalie Parker in Austin, Texas. At that time Ms.Parker was already taking care of four foster children and a baby. Ms. Parker left all five children under the supervision of her nineteen year old son. He wasn’t even licensed to take care of foster children. Under Ms.Parker’s son’s supervision the five month old infant was found unresponsive and turning purple. The cause of death has not yet been published. The Police Department also found pornography of the infant in Ms. Parker’s son’s phone. Ms.Parker is charged with endangering a child, injury to a child and witness tampering. A year ago before this incident Parker was cited for abandoning previous foster children that were in her care. According to the health commission it is unclear if any action was taken to fix these problems. National Association of Social Workers questioned why Ms. Parker didn’t get additional supports both in training resources and respite care. It is clearly seen that a single mother will not give proper care to five foster children and including an infant at the same time. It is too much supervision and responsibility for one person. There should be a limit per home. (Morris, 2019)

Compare and Contrast

In Texas once a child ages out they are set free without no funds or a permanent home. They are not taught with no life skills that will help them become independent. “After aging out of foster care, they disappeared and faced homelessness and unemployment”(Morris, 2018). These young adult face homelessness because they are own their own with no funds to help them find a place to live. Before release foster children are not taught on how to get resources. They are also not taught on how to get finically situated. They have not been prepared on becoming independent. Also they are not eligible for funds that provide free tuition for those who want to go to college. They are all alone with no experience how to manage an adult life and how to better themselves. Recently there was a bill passed that does help solve part of this crisis. “Approximately 25 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation to extend foster care beyond age 18. The 25 states include: Alabama, Arkansas,California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia”(NCSL, 2019). In Virginia, the foster care agency starts teaching their kids ages fourteen through twenty one important life skills that will help them live independently. “Areas of focus include personal development skills such as self-esteem, communication skills, decision-making, conflict resolution and anger management. Examples of independent living skills are career exploration, job skills, money, management, housing, transportation, and legal issues”(Virginia, 2017). Virginia is helping these children build a future and they’re providing these kids knowledge of adulthood. “In contrast with America’s “child safety” approach, the Australian system of foster care has a process that explores how the family in question can benefit from direct family support services rather than immediately taking the child out of the home” (Barron,2016).The Australian foster care system focuses on early intervention, providing early therapy parent education. Their focus is how to help the parents acknowledge the responsibility for the proper care of a child. They provide an early framework of early intervention services. If there’s maltreatment after the services, then the foster care system will revoke the child from the parents. This will be the last action the foster care system will take.

Opposition Viewpoint

It is hard for people to understand what foster children have been through. Instead of trying to understand them, people often judge them for the actions foster children take. “They might innately be aware of the sad truth that they are viewed by caseworkers and foster parents as potentially ‘troublesome,’ and that – unlike most children – they must prove themselves to be trustworthy before they will be fully loved”(Babbel, 2013). Foster children have already gone through tremendous trauma. They have gone through a lot of pain and are emotionally scar. Most of them experience long lasting impact in personality and development. Thus, the children become refusal to supervision of adults and often act out. Every parent knows raising a child is a challenged, but raising foster children is especially a challenge because of all the unique needs of them. In spite of the child welfare is supposed to improve a child’s life and integrate them to a comfortable home and into their original school, these two goals are often difficult to accomplish. There are many cases when foster children will have to be moved to a none familiar environment and a new school, therefore needing to make new friends again. These circumstances will make them uncertain about their future. People don’t understand that some of the defense mechanism these children use is to run away, be aggressive or even join in the wrong crowd. They are just trying to prevent themselves from getting more hurt than they already are.

People believe that these children don’t deserve a chance in life because all they do is just cause problems. That’s the sad mentality of positions now a days. All these children need is help to cope with the past, love and stability. If all three of these needs were met, there wouldn’t be as many troubled children as we have today.

Solutions and Implementation

The foster care system is a growing problem today. Politicians don’t understand how much foster children have suffered.The main goal these politicians should have is family unification. It is not healthy separating a child from their parents for a long period. Some children were taken away from their parents since birth. What if the parent was able to fix their problems and now they are able to care for their children. The government should be finding ways to solve family issues. If the child is at great risk then the second option would be to find a family member that is willing to provide the proper care that the child requires. In 2018, there has been a law passed called Family First Prevention. According to the article This New Federal Law Will Change Foster Care As We Know It (2018), “The law, called the Family First Prevention Services Act, prioritizes keeping families together and puts more money toward at-home parenting classes, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment— and puts limits on placing children in institutional settings such as group homes” (Wiltz, 2018). Parents will be able to see their children under supervision. For those children who did not get the chance of family unification. When they age out of foster care, they should be taught on how to become independent. Foster care system would provide classes to teach the kids that are going to age out of foster care system what it takes to live independently. How they’re suppose to manage their money, where to find support group, and have a banking account with funds to back them up, if they struggle to make ends meet. Some children who are in foster care receive social security because their parents passed away. While the children are in the foster care system, foster care takes the social security away from the children. Foster care caseworkers tell the children that the funds are returned through Medicaid. That money was left for those children by their parents. Instead of taking the money away, foster care should save it in a bank account until the child reaches of age which is eighteen years old. This money will benefit the child in a lot of ways. It could help them with their down payment for an apartment, buy a car, buy school supplies and many other different ways.

Conclusion

America is still facing a broken foster care system today. Congress has started implementing laws to improve the well being of these children while in the care of the government. In reality the progress in improving foster care system is painfully slow. More each day, children face neglect and abuse in the care of the foster care system. At times the pain they feel is so overwhelming they end up committing suicide, thinking that it is the easiest way out. These children are looking for an escape to prevent themselves from getting hurt. It is time to take a stand on protecting these children. It is time for foster care to take better care of these children.Another issue that the foster care system faces is that in small valleys there is no foster care centers. For example Brownsville Texas barely opened a foster care center. Before it got opened foster children were forced to relocate in different counties making it harder for them to adjust. “BROWNSVILLE, Texas – In January alone nearly 40% of children in foster care (ages 0-17) in Cameron County are placed outside of the county”(Cuadros, 2017 ).

Moving constantly will traumatize a child. Children need stability to grow a healthy life. There need to be foster care centers in every county and city of each state. “Regional Director for ‘A World for Children’ Maricela Medrano said, “We want the children to stay here in the valley locally and even within their own city to be able own to have visits with their biological families”(Cuadros, 2017). Also politicians started noticing the crisis in foster care system. They realized how many cases caseworkers had which was overwhelming. In 2019 there have been several legislation passed that will help foster care. One of the bills implemented recently was The Foster Care Omnibus bill. The bill does several things, but some of the highlights are: it allows the Commissioner to implement a corrective action plan or assume temporary control of local departments when necessary, requires the Department to establish and update annually a caseload standard which limits the number of foster care cases that may be assigned to each caseworker, and requires the Commissioner to create within the State Department of Social Services a foster care health and safety director position”(Gilbreath, 2019). Foster care system will eventually become a safe place for the children of America.

Unfortunately, not all women who give birth to a child have the requirements or the proper conditions to raise one. Many children around the world are left with improper care due to inadequate parents. Parents that may have substance abuse problems or even physically abuse their young ones. Therefore, a system was put in place to come to those in need of help: Foster Care., introduced through ideology in religious books, the concept has been developed into a system where it takes in minors with unbearable conditions and raises them.

Although foster care may have proven to save many lives, its system also has many downfalls. The foster care system is failing those it serves due to the neglect of help to their integration back to society.

This research paper begins by enlightening the reader on the various aspects regarding the foster care system; how it works, it’s origin, and how the system operates today. It further highlights the challenges of minors integration back into society.

What is Foster Care?

Multiple types of social services have been put in place to allow the smooth running of our society. Foster Care has been a service provided to many since the mid of the 19th century. Also known as the “out-of-home care”, the foster care system creates an environment in which children can be nurtured and prosper despite the tough past living conditions they have endured. This system takes care of children whose parents can’t take care of or who have passed away.

During the process of biological parents obtaining the capability to take care of their own child, children are placed into foster homes, group care facilities or relatives. These alternatives are meant to be temporary arrangements until the child is able to be reunited with his/her biological family. Often times, if this isn’t an option, these children are put up for adoption and are integrated into a permanent new family. Despite this, children often spend around 2 years in the foster care system before being reunited with family.

How Does It work?

Every country has a different way of operating its foster care system. In the united states, this system is complex yet easy to follow.

The system places children into group homes or directly into a foster home. They are taken care of by “foster parents”. “A foster parent is a state-certified caregiver who looks after a foster child and provides him a safe home environment”. (How The Foster Care System Works) They are licensed by the state and are trained caregivers.

A foster home is a home away from home. It is a family willing to nurture a child. They are offered compensations from group homes to care for the child they have adopted. If instead of being placed in the hands of a caregiver, they are placed in a foster home the government offers direct compensation to the foster homes

The main goal of foster care is to be able to reunify the child with his or her biological parents. If this isn’t an option, they offer legal guardianship and parental rights to the foster parents.

Until then, foster care parents stay in regular contact with the biological parents of the child. Being a caregiver comes with a multitude of challenges such as dealing with the emotional trauma of the child. Being able to be gentle and sensitive to the child’s issue.

Many cases have occurred in which the child received worse treatment in foster homes than in his biological house. This is why registering to be a foster parent requires a multitude of background checks.

Why Would a Child Be Placed in Foster Care?

In most cases, children are registered into foster care due to neglect, abuse or lack of parental supervision at home. In some instances, parents voluntarily place their children into foster care because they know that this is what’s best for them at the moment. In other cases, child protective services have to come and remove them from the care of their parents. In these events, children often go through some trauma attached to the separation of their biological parents.

When placed into foster care, children – depending on the situation – have access to parental visits and are given the right to stay in contact with biological brothers and sisters. “Foster children report that being away from family and familiar surroundings, and not always knowing what’s next, are among the hardest parts of foster care”. (What Is Foster Care?) .

Having children ranging from the age of 3 to 18-year-old dealing with these situations can be very difficult and leave a lifelong impact. Everyone’s experience in foster care is different. Children all come in with different stories. This allows for bonds to be built and allows for a sense of group healing.

Origin of Foster Care

Caring for children under the law has been a concept that goes back to references from the Bible, Torah, and Quran. These holy books were written many centuries ago.

Laws in the early 1500s in England allowed orphaned children to be placed into indentured services’ until they turned 18. Indentured services consisted of working in plantation and rice fields. “Only about 40% of indentured servants lived to complete the terms of their contracts.” (Indentured Servants) . Although multiple died before reaching adulthood, this was their only option. They were fed and taken care of and in exchange, they had to work in indentured services. This law was passed onto the United States a few years later due to the alliance they had with the United Kingdom. This was the beginning of the idea of placing children in foster homes. Even though these services consisted of child exploitation it was an upgrade from almshouses. Almshouses were houses built by charities for poor people to live in. The living conditions were unsanitary and were run by abusive caregivers.

During that time, children entered foster homes due to the passing of both of their parents and not due to abuse and neglect in their households.

History of Foster Care in The United States

The Children’s Aid’s society was founded in New York, in 1853, by Charles Loring Brace. The objective of this association was to protect children who had experienced abuse or who were at risk of sexual, emotional or physical abuse. Also to provide help and support for families in need. When seeing so many homeless children in the streets of New York, he also started “The orphan train movement”. This movement consisted of babies and teenagers being sent to the midwest to work on farms. They would often stop in towns to try and get some children adopted. The caregiver, when arrived at a station would clean them up and dress them nicely. They then would go into an opera house – oftentimes into churches – and were put up for “showcase”. Thus comes the expression “put up for adoption”

In these situations, siblings would often get split and lose contact because people could only adopt one child. The inhumanity of these things was surreal. Children were showcased as animals and some would even dance to catch the eye of potential adoptive parents. Some were adopted into loving families while others were turned into slaves and were abused.

In the early 1800s, foster homes were a source of abuse and many would have rathered stayed in the streets. But the idea behind these foundations was to give abandoned and orphaned children some type of family life. This is the same objective of modern/recent foster homes. Charles Loring Bryce set the stage for the current way the foster care system functions

Mary Ellen Wilson’s story

Mary Ellen Wilson’s Story is a story that has shaken up the way the foster care system was operated and put in place a set of laws.

Mary Ellen was a young girl who was given off to a family friend due to her mother’s lack of ability to take care of her when her father passed away. When she reached the age of two, she was given off to the New York City Department of Charities. The New York City Department of Charities appointed her to Thomas and Mary McCormack. They were now legally in custody of her. Which only later was found out that they did so with fake documentation. When Mr. Thomas McCormack passed away, his wife remarried and all three: Mary Ellen, her and her new husband, moved towns.

New neighbors became aware of the eerie situations that occurred within that household. They would hear screams and cries. The poor young girl, Mary Ellen was victim to child abuse. She would repeatedly leave the house with bruises. This was Mrs. McCormack’s way of parenting.

They repeatedly moved households in hopes of not getting questioned for their behavior. One day, a neighbor from a past location asked Etta Angell Wheeler, “a caring Methodist mission worker who visited the impoverished residents of the tenements regularly, to check on the child.” (Prevent Child Abuse) to follow up with Mary Ellen. She arrived at the household where she found the 10-year-old with bruises all over, malnourished and with a face filled with trauma. Etta Angell immediately tried to seek legal actions.

At that time there were no laws for the protection of children, yet, there were some in place for the protection of animals. She went to court and they denied her request due to the lack of evidence. So they brought in Mary Ellen Wilson to testify. That was enough to take her away from her foster parents’ custody and to send them to jail for twelve months.

Ellen was then placed into a juvenile home where she got the opportunity to heal. A few years later, Etta Angell Wheeler gained custody of her.

This story was a catalyst for the movement of child protective laws. “The dedication of several people saved Mary Ellen and started the Child-Protection Movement’ (Prevent Child Abuse)

Foster care today

Foster care has now taken a slightly different turn. It now focuses on the complete well being of the child and not just getting them off the streets. “In 2017, more than 690,000 children spent time in U.S. foster care.” (Foster Care) This drives a multitude of people in charge of the system to make this a friendly environment and one in which children can prosper.

A multitude of America’s child welfare systems is broken. Children go through a lot more harm and trauma then expected within-group houses. Some things never change. To this day, siblings are often split and sent to different homes. Others are sent jungled home to home, never obtaining a stable environment. The system claims that their primary objective is to reunify families as soon as possible, yet many are thrown around like toys between homes for many years. Until it is now too late to even receive foster care considering that they are now independent and of legal age.

Kinship Care

The foster care system has evolved into different branches. One branch is known as kinship care. This system is very similar to the one of foster care but instead of being placed with strangers or in a foster group they are placed with relatives or extended family members. That family member receives the same amount of financial support and holds the same amount of responsibility as a foster parent. The main difference is that the caregiver has already nurtured a relationship with the child. Kinship care comes with a multitude of advantages. It minimizes the child’s trauma, nurtures the child’s cultural identity and allows for the maintenance of sibling ties.

According to new research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: “Children removed from their homes after reports of abuse have significantly fewer behavior problems when placed with relatives rather than being placed into foster care” (Kinship Care More Beneficial Than Foster Care).

Should this be how the whole foster care system operates? Yes, this would be ideal. But many children enrolled in the system, don’t have this kind of family support. Completely switching the way the system is designed would be harmful to many.

What is wrong about this situation is that the system knows that there are better alternatives such as kinship care, yet they still allow for children to go through the hassle of living through the second-best option rather than trying to develop the idea of kinship care and expand the people who could have access to it.

Foster Families

Foster families can either nurture the child’s growth or nurture his/her pain. These factors depend on the pure luck of the families the child is placed in. Ideally, every foster family should be able to offer the same level of comfort. Sadly, this isn’t the case. A multitude of children leave the foster care system with more trauma then they came in with. When placed into a foster family, children should be treated as one of their own. Their caregivers’ biological children should become their siblings and gain an extended family.

Kids can’t be taken out of an environment, placed into new homes, and then expect to thrive. This is where the social worker comes in as they can provide support and services. (Nfyiadmin, 2017)

Abuse and Neglect in Foster Homes

Statistics show as much as 28% of kids are abused while in the foster care system. (Consequences of Foster Care Abuse and Neglect). This statistic may be higher considering that many foster kids are kept silent about the situations they go through by their caregivers. They suffer trauma in an environment meant to remove them from that kind of stress. Foster kids need caregivers who have time and are willing to offer them love and affection opportunity to heal. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. Children are placed into the same or even worse environment then they had with their biological parents.

“A blind eye is often turned to this abuse and neglect in foster services due to the overwhelming responsibilities, the number of children they have to monitor, and extensive work paper social workers must deal with daily.” (Consequences of Foster Care Abuse and Neglect)

This neglect and abuse can lead to life-long emotional and psychological issues. Children who are abused, neglected and live in an unstable foster environment perform poorly in school and are more likely to begin at a young age the abuse of substances such as alcohol and drugs. These are some of the life-long consequences some foster kids carry with them when leaving the system.

Kids are victimized by the abuse and neglect they have received. In situations like these, people need to understand that there is a flaw in the system which needs to be revised.

Emancipation of Minors

At the age of 18, children still in the foster care system “age out”. This is known as the age when children can file for emancipation.

Under the law, parents are responsible for the wellbeing of their child until they turn of legal age. Feeding them, housing them and offering them the tools needed to succeed. Emancipation is giving a minor its full independence. This happens through a legal process that allows the minor to become fully independent and take into account adult responsibilities. Such as paying taxes. This releases the foster system of all responsibilities linked to the child. When seeking emancipation, the child must register for it with the court. Their foster agency must also file for a petition. The court will then decide if the child will benefit from this decision or not. The decision also depends on factors such as the minors living conditions, the minors’ level of maturity and the minors’ capability to provide for themselves.

Being emancipated allows the child to now buy real estate, independently enroll in a school and sign contracts to their names.

Aging out of Foster Care

“When kids age out of foster care, they become ineligible to receive state assistance with housing, food, and medical care under the foster care system.” (Aging Out of Foster Care). This added to the fact that: foster kids often leave suffering from trauma due to a long period lived in an unstable environment, leads to a long-term of emotional trauma causing newly emancipated young adults to suffer higher rates of substance abuse, mental illness, teen pregnancy, and homelessness

Children transitioning from protection to independence face multiple challenges. Some decide to leave before “aging out” due to the lack of support in group homes. While others age out and are sent into the world with a lack of knowledge and preparation for an independent way of life.

“This has led to a high discharge of children from the foster care system into homelessness. After reaching the age of 18, 20% of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless.” (Nfyiadmin, 2017) This issue was put under review and child welfare services are now forced to support these minors until the age of 18 up to the age of 21 to provide them with a smooth transition.

Transition Into Society and Government Support

The government should be the main source of support for children leaving the foster care system. Child protection legislation should allow youths to access child protection services up to the age of 18. They should also allow kids, who haven’t “aged out” of the system but who have left by decision to reenter if needed. They should also grant them a loan to allow them to start their independent lives and purchase or lease a home. These are things that the government could allocate, the goal of facilitating foster children’s transition.

Child protective services, on the other hand, should actively help children leaving the system find affordable housing and support them in their transition to independence

Conclusion

The multiple unethical challenges that our foster care system faces become apparent when looked into. Many challenges come with the upbringing of children in foster care. Allowing them to integrate into society is a key aspect that multiple organizations are failing to do. A system who failing one of its core duties fails the people it serves.

To be able to completely recognize and understand the full policy and programs, knowing how and why they were developed is important. Background information will also be vital to thoroughly grasping their purposes and goals. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, and John Burton Advocates for Youth will be broken down in order to explain the issues they are attempting to resolve. The importance of these issues will also be revealed and described.

Description and History of the Policy

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is a policy aimed to help elongate the age of eligibility for Title IV-E child welfare reimbursement. Originally the age limit was at 18 years old, and because of this policy it was changed to 21 years old for those youth who met the distinct criteria. The main policy changes permits foster care youth, now aged up to 21 years old, to be able to use Title IV-E resources and present other states with financial encouragement to stretch out care to where it is available in certain states. 18 states and the District of Columbia can use federal funds for extending care up to age 21 as of November 2013 (Dion). The policy was also able to involve supervised independent living environments in the reimbursable housing that was provided in the previously. This includes places such as host homes and college dormitories. On October 7, 2008, the act was officially signed into law by President George W. Bush at Congress (GovTrack.us). It was unanimously voted through in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Overall, the policy was designed to show how states intend to expand foster care resources for youth up to the age of 21, and also how they will complete the new requirements affiliated to handling a larger oversight of the health care and educational needs of all foster kids (CITE). Some of these requirements include placing siblings together whenever possible, and notifying relatives within 30 days of a child’s removal from their biological home (CITE). If shown successful, then the impact of the law will result in an increase in the number of kids who are adopted out of the foster care system and will show a lower number of foster kids who are left homeless and without an education.

Program Descriptions

The first program that has grown from the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, is the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. This program was developed to offer assistance to help current and former foster care youth achieve self-sufficiency. Most youth that exit foster care due to “aging out,” have nowhere to go and have no idea on how to jump start their lives after foster care life. The program’s purpose is to help foster kids who are more likely to stay in foster care until age 18, youth who, after turning 16 years old, have exited foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption, and those who are ages 18-21 and have ‘aged out’ of the foster care system (CITE). In 2002, the Educational and Training Vouchers Program (ETV) for Youths Aging out of Foster Care was introduced to the program (CITE). ETV gives funds to meet the education and training needs of youth aging out of foster care (CITE).

As a result, the program was intended to provide grants to States and Tribes who present a plan to help youth in a diverse and wide assortment of fields developed to support a successful change into adulthood. The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program goes through activities and even other programs that include, but are not limited to, help with schooling, employment, financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults for older youth in foster care (CITE). Mentors (over the age of 55), will assist in engaging youth in community service activities, and demonstrate a classroom-based life skills curriculum, and offers workshops to parents as well (CITE). If successful, foster care kids will gain the realization, self-belief, and expertise needed to keep away from drugs and overcome overwhelming challenges they will face in life.

Based in San Francisco, the John Burton Advocates for Youth program was founded in 2005 by former member of Congress, the California State Assembly and President Pro Tem of the California State, John Burton (CITE). This program works towards improving the quality of life for California’s foster, former foster, and homeless youth (CITE). Majority of foster care children who “age out,” end up living on the streets with nowhere to go and no advantages to get their lives started. This program will ensure that extended foster care stays in tack as shown through policy advocacy and the training of local county administrators and providers (CITE).

John Burton Advocates for Youth attempts to help enhance the quality of housing for current and former foster kids by supplying consistent training and technical aid for foster care housing providers. If proven successful, permanent, affordable housing for former foster youth can be provided, and even with partnerships with nonprofit and for-profit housing, development of community can be started.

Policy and Program Environment

Programs Effectiveness/Efficiency

To sufficiently go through both the effectiveness and efficiency of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, the two programs that strive due to this policy will each individually be evaluated on their own effectiveness and efficiency. An in-depth evaluation of the policy can be concluded, by using the comparison of studies of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program and John Burton Advocates for Youth. This component of the report will describe and go into detail of different case studies that tested specific characteristics of each program. The results of these studies will help conclude the effectiveness and efficiency of the policy as a whole. It will also provide policymakers with an awareness and perception of how to continue to grow and improve this policy for the future.

Effectiveness

Due to the fact that the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program begins to help current and former foster care youth learn about independence and self-sufficiency at such a young age, it is critical to assess the effectiveness of the program, because of its influence it has on young vulnerable children. A study performed by Child Trends, evaluates how the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program has affected the number of older youth entering foster care over the past decade. Older youth being able to achieve permanency was also analyzed over a decade in this study as well. The decade ranged from 2007-2017 (Rosenburg). Child Trends conducted an analysis of the Adoption and Foster Care and Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and also the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) (Rosenburg). The data that was collected from the two database systems was put into an infographic to display the results and findings from Child Trends. Due to using these two reliable databases and compiling the found information into a professional infographic, the comprehensive effectiveness of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program was assembled.

By following and using the databases mentioned above, Child Trends was able to provide a composed set of results that demonstrates the effectiveness of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. The data from the study confirmed that the number of older youth entering foster care has decreased from 2007 to 2017 (Rosenburg). Starting in 2007, with 73,263 foster care youth to ending with 49,135 foster care youth in 2017 (Rosenburg). These results showed that the program has been working and improving the foster care system tredmously over the past decade. If more programs like the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program were to be funded, then it can be expected to only decrease the number of older youth in foster care even more than it was in 2017. Now taking a look at the achieved permanency rate of older foster care youth, it has remained at 61% consistently throughout the decade of 2007-2017 (Rosenburg). This means that there is still room for improvement and that policymakers should create programs that are specially aimed to improve this problem. More foster care youth can only benefit from this as seen with the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. Nevertheless, these findings show that the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program has improved the foster care system but also can still use improvements, which will only help grow the effectiveness of the program for the foreseen future.

To continue the evaluation of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, another study conducted by Melissa Litchfield, Sophia I. Gatowski, Ph.D., and Maureen McKissick evaluates how much judges truly know about this program. Research staff from the Permanency Planning for Children Department (PPCD) conducted telephone interviews with 19 out of 23 Model Court Lead Judges (Litchfield). Trained PPCD research staff members organized each interview through telephone that lasted approximately 45 minutes, and asked the judges 15 multi-part questions (Litchfield). One of these 15 multi-part questions was specific to John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. The results of this interview were displayed in a pie chart along with statistics to further explain the findings. As a result of using Model Court Lead Judges as the subjects of the study and also using trained research staff members of PPCD, the overall effectiveness of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program was compiled.

By using professionals and trained research staff as stated above, the authors of the study are able to supply a collected series of findings, that displayed the effectiveness of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. The results from the study revealed that 10 of 19 judges (53%) surveyed rate themselves as having little to no knowledge of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (Litchfield). Out of the remaining nine judges, eight claimed having “some” knowledge, and only one judge stated having “a great deal of knowledge” (Litchfield). This shows that the knowledge of this program is not great enough in court systems. The knowledge and recognition of this program is needed in court for foster care kids futures, in order for judges to be able to recommend it. For foster care youth to succeed, this program needs to become more well-known to judges. However, these findings reveal that the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program needs to become more aware in the court system in order for its effectiveness to continue to expand and help those who would benefit from joining it.

Looking at the similarities and comparison of the effectiveness of these two studies, the total effectiveness of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 can be appropriately and precisely determined. In both studies, the goals were to see how the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program has affected the foster care system and the court system over time. It can be easily said that the program is proven to positively affect the foster care system by actually decreasing the number of kids in the system, but improvements definitely need to be made in order to help other parts of it. The program is for sure not well-known enough in the court system, which means more improvements can be made there as well. These conclusive studies show the policymakers that the overall policy is indeed helpful and proves its effectiveness since it has decreased the number of children in foster care. The data also provides more feedback on where it needs to be improved in order for it to continue to have its effectiveness grow overtime.

Regarding John Burton Advocates for Youth, Child Trends, alongside the Better Housing Coalition and Children’s Home Society of Virginia, composed a national survey of state independent living coordinators called, Survey on Services and Supports for Young People Transitioning from Foster Care Survey (Fryar). The data was collected in 2016, and has responses from Independent Living Coordinators from 47 of 52 states and territories that were reached out too (Fryar). They reported the assembling and opportunities from services and supports for youth and young adults who have been through foster care, highlighting state trends and examples of innovation in six major service areas: 1. post-secondary education; 2. employment and career development; 3. financial capability; 4. safe, stable, and affordable housing; 5. health and mental health care; and 6. permanent relationships with supportive adults (Fryar). The findings of these surveys were produced as statistics and explained thoroughly by the authors. Due to the use of wide spread and national data collection for the survey, the general effectiveness for the John Burton Advocates for Youth was collected.

Using the wide spread and national data collection for the survey as said above, the effectiveness of the John Burton Advocates for Youth was expressed by Child Trends. The survey discovered that three quarters of states report that most young people leave foster care before the maximum age permitted (Fryar). Also, almost every state claimed that foster care can be extended past age 18, with 40 out of 47 states that replied, reporting that it is available to a few young people up 21 years old (Fryar). Though, in 27 states that extend foster care to 21 years or older, younger people normally exit at 18 years old (Fryar). This was concerning the authors due to the fact that past research has shown that young people who stay in foster care to age 21 are less likely to experience homelessness and have a high chance to be employed and attend college in comparison to those who exit foster care at 18 years old (Fryar). These findings are related to John Burton Advocates for Youth because the program’s objective is to extend the age limit in order to stop foster care youth from becoming homeless to actually have a chance at a successful future. The data showed that the longer the age limit is extended too, the more likely they are to succeed and have a better education. With that being said, the survey showed that John Burton Advocates for Youth objectives are on the right path for effectiveness and will continue to grow as the years go on.

To carry on with the John Burton Advocates for Youth, another study from Child Trends takes data from the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) and the federal fiscal year 2014 data to analyze types of education foster care youth got once they left the system (Jordan). Child Trends also discovered the state that had the largest amount of foster care kids leaving the system and how they are going to improve it (Jordan). Since the data was collected from two reliable databases, the effectiveness of the John Burton Advocates for Youth was shown in the results.

From the data that was compiled and collected from two reliable databases as stated above, the effectiveness of the John Burton Advocates for Youth was able to be revealed by Child Trends. The data revealed that only 8% of young adults in the Midwest who have been in foster care have a postsecondary degree at ages 25 to 26, in comparison to 46 percent of young adults in the general population (Jordan). Also, according to federal fiscal year 2014 data from the AFCARS, Virginia had one of the highest number of percentages of youth exiting foster care due to age (emancipation) in the country (Jordan). This data only confirms that John Burton Advocates for Youth still has the right idea for their objectives when wanted to help foster care youth. However, these findings reaffirms that the John Burton Advocates for Youth has effectiveness and will continue to in the foreseen future.

Taking a look at the comparison of the two case studies, the complete effectiveness of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 can be clearly and specifically determined. Both studies have similar goals in wanting to keep the extended age in the foster care system. The John Burton Advocates for Youth main goal was also to keep the age extended as well. The two case studies confirmed that the program is heading towards the right direction of effectiveness and should continue on the current path. Policymakers should still keep attempting to improve it in every possible way they can even though it is doing great to this day. Therefore, in conclusion, the John Burton Advocates for Youth may be seen as being as effective as it can possibly be, but improvements can still be made and expanded upon.

Efficiency

No different from the effectiveness of the program, being able to identify and analyze the efficiency of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is just as important. The efficiency helps specify if the programs are worth the cost and time based on the availability of services and resources it has. The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program had a fund at about $140 million in 2009 (CITE). Mangement wise, serveral independent programs are looked over by the main state program that situates former foster youth. Usually it is with an independent living coordinator and other program staff. For instance, in California, each county administers its own program with some oversight and support from a statewide program. Other states, like Florida, use contracted service providers to administer their programs. Many jurisdictions have partnered with private organizations to help fund and sometimes administer some aspect of their independent living programs.

Foster care is a temporary home for children who cannot live with their family’s. It sometimes does good and helps kids find a good and healthy home to live in with a supportive family. It also has many flaws. Foster care needs to change because kids age out of foster care with no support, children’s needs go unheard, and there are many abusive and neglected foster homes.

One of the worst things about foster care is that the children’s needs go unheard. Eighty percent of foster kids end up having mental health issues because of the situation they are in. Most of the time they don’t get the help they need when they have these issues. They don’t have a trusted adult they can talk to and trust to get advice from. We all have someone like our parents to go to if we need help with something but these kids don’t have that. These kids deserve at least help and guidance through these problems. Kids in foster care are highly mistreated and they can’t do anything about it. One half of the country does not meet the standard for keeping kids safe during foster care and do not take care of the kids properly.

Another issue with the foster care system is that kids age out of foster care with no support. About 15,000 kids have been waiting five years to be adopted. Once they leave the system studies show that most kids don’t graduate high school, are unemployed, and they end up being dependent on the public. Around 20% of children who age out of foster care become homeless. Kids aging out of foster care happens too often and they deserve a chance at a good childhood. On the cite adoption.org it states “Over 23,000 children age out of the foster care system each year in the United States.” In 2015 twenty four million young adults between the ages of 18-34 lived in their parents house, foster kids don’t have any parents to go live with if they don’t have the finances to get an apartment or a house. That is another reason why these kids need support if they never find a home. When these kids enter foster care they are promised that they will get taken care of but we are clearly not living up to our promises.

The last issue it’s foster care is the abusive and neglected foster homes. 28% of kids are abused in the foster care system and most of them can’t speak up about it. ABC News stated “Each week, nearly 60,000 children in the United States are reported as abused or neglected.” It also stated “About 520,000 of those children end up in foster care each year.” Kids now suffer from behavioral disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, or other mental or physical issues as a result of the abuse they get when they are at home. Children who are being victimized by abuse who live in unstable foster homes do poorly in school, develop a distrust towards authority, and they are more likely to be involved in drugs and alcohol. Some of the time the homes the kids are getting put in are bad or even worse than the homes they were taken out of. We are trying to get these kids out of terrible situations but we are just putting them back into one. The staff that help with foster care overlook kids who are getting abused because they have so many kids they have to pay attention to. They get handed loads of paperwork for these kids but the paperwork shouldnt be what they are paying attention to it should be the actual kid.

The Catholic Social Teaching Theme that relates to my social justice issue is that “God wants us to help make sure everyone is safe and healthy and can have a good life.” This Catholic Social Teaching means that he wants us to watch out for everyone and to make sure they are doing good. He doesn’t want us to suffer and have a bad life, instead he wants us to succeed and have the best life possible. The SLE my social justice issue relates to is “respecting diversity and standing up for what is just” because you have to respect what foster kids need and stand up for them when they can’t stand up for themselves. My social justice issue connects to the Catholic Social Teaching Theme because God wants us to make sure foster kids are getting a good life and not getting passed around like objects. It also connects because he wants us to check on them and make sure they are getting put in a safe environment and and having a good and healthy life.

The catholic church has spoken out about foster care many times. The pope has spoken about it and talked about how as Catholics we should let kids into our home with an open heart. These kids are children of God and still need to be taken care of. Some things society is doing is trying to strengthen the bonds between the birth parents if it is possible. People are also trying to give foster kids people who they can trust and get advice from. I have been impacted by this social issue because it really makes me think about my family and how much they give up to help me through life and support me. Most of these kids have no one to go to if they need something. I have learned that not everyone’s life is perfect and that some kids don’t have an amazing childhood with supportive and healthy lifes. I can help impact others lives by spreading awareness so that people know these kids are not getting treated how they say they are.

Foster care needs to change because it is doing more bad than good. Kids are now getting passed around to different houses and not getting properly cared for. We can help spread awareness by talking about this issue and letting people know how badly these innocent kids are getting treated so that they might open up their homes and give more kids the life they deserve. If you have the space or the heart to get these kids out of a terrible situation please consider helping them.