...been placed into a new home with a new family. Your last family was unfit to take care of you, but now you're in better hands. Or so it seems. Six months later you're tired, beaten down, and slowly giving up on life. Your foster parents weren't as nurturing and loving as they seemed; although, the social worker who placed you in their care didn't know that, mainly because she didn't properly screen them before sending you into the home of strangers. Foster care reform is a drastically overlooked topic in America, which is becoming worse by the second. Although hundreds of thousands of children enter into the foster care system each year, foster care reform is a subject which is constantly...
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...CONCEPTS The Child Welfare System: Through the Eyes of Public Health Nurses Janet U. Schneiderman ABSTRACT Objective: This qualitative descriptive study investigates how public health nurses working within the child welfare system view the organization and the organizationÕs effect on their case management practice. Design: Semistructured interviews were conducted utilizing the Bolman—Deal Organizational Model. This model identifies four frames of an organization: symbolic, human resources, political, and structural. Sample: A purposive sample of nine nurses and one social worker was selected to participate in comprehensive interviews. Results: Data analysis identified two main themes. The first theme was the presence of organizational structural barriers to providing case management. The second theme was the lack of political influence by the nurses to change the structure of the organization; hence, their skills could be more completely utilized. Conclusions: Public health nurses who work in child welfare will need to systematically analyze their role within the organization and understand how to work in Òhost settings.Ó Nursing educators need to prepare public health nurses to work in non-health care settings by teaching organizational analysis. Key words: child protective services, organization, public health nursing. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative descriptive study was to investigate how public health nurses working in the child welfare system in a large metropolitan...
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...The Impact of Foster Care on Child Development Demeka F. Gaddy Liberty University Abstract The foster care system was designed to provide a safe temporary placement for children who can no longer stay in the care of their parents or guardian. The overall goal of foster care is for the children to return home to their caregiver. If the caregiver fails to regain custody the child is placed in other living arrangements, to include foster homes. However there is a controversy over the effectiveness of the foster care system in regards to child development. Foster care has been linked to negative impacts in child development to include; physical and sexual abuse, attachment disorders, and behavioral problems that eventually lead to children being placed in multiple placements and in some cases the juvenile justice system,. Children who are in foster care are a vulnerable group due to the being removed from their home, in some cases abruptly. It has been proven that the longer children living in foster care are subject to negative development more than children who do not live in foster care. Based on these factors the foster care system needs to focus more on the needs of the child so that positive development can occur. Keywords: child welfare, abuse, child development The Negative Impacts of Foster Care on Child Development The foster care system was designed to provide a safety net for children and families and to reunite children with their biological parents if possible...
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...Youth in the foster care system repeatedly undergo multiple transitions before they reach adulthood. These transitions often create substantial amounts of stress and can intensify emotional and behavioral problems. With more than 29,000 young people exiting the foster care system each year, research has shown that these young people are frequently unprepared for their lives after foster care through findings of high rate homelessness, incarceration, unemployment and school failure (Greenen & Powers, 2007; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Furthermore, research also shows that less than 55% of youth who had exited foster care obtained jobs in the future that paid above the poverty line. Unfortunately, the young people aging...
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...One of the most comprehensive surveys of abuse in foster care was conducted in conjunction with a Baltimore lawsuit. Trudy Festinger, head of the Department of Research at the New York University School of Social Work, determined that over 28 per cent of the children in state care had been abused while in the system. Reviewed cases depicted "a pattern of physical, sexual and emotional abuses" inflicted upon children in the custody of the Baltimore Department. Cases reviewed as the trial progressed revealed children who had suffered continuous sexual and physical abuse or neglect in foster homes known to be inadequate by the Department. Cases included that of sexual abuse of young girls by their foster fathers, and that of a young girl who contracted gonorrhea of the throat as a result of sexual abuse in an unlicenced foster home.[1] In Louisiana, a study conducted in conjunction with a civil suit found that 21 percent of abuse or neglect cases involved foster homes.[2] In another Louisiana case, one in which thousands of pages of evidence were reviewed, and extensive testimony and depositions were taken, it was discovered that hundreds of foster children had been shipped out of the state to Texas. Stephen Berzon of the Children's Defense Fund explained the shocking findings of the court before a Congressional subcommitte, saying: "children were physically abused, handcuffed, beaten, chained, and tied up, kept in cages, and overdrugged with psychotropic medication for institutional...
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...Improving Academic Performance and Achievement of children and youth in foster care Joanna Bermudez Mercy College Summer 2013 Introduction and Problem Statement Approximately fifty percent of adolescents in this country’s foster care system are graduating from high school each year. In NYS, less than forty-four percent of adolescent’s in the foster care system graduate from high school yearly. The outcomes of youth who leave the foster care system between the ages of 18 and 21 are statistically grim; less than 50% of these youth are equipped with a high school diploma (Scannapeieco, Connel-Carrick, and Pinter, 2007), and with-in two years of leaving the system, 25% of them face unemployment, homelessness, and/or incarceration (Krinsky, 2007). For all children, especially children in foster care, having the proper advocacy, stability, educational coordination and guidance are vital in ensuring their academic success. Unfortunately, children in foster care are less likely to receive these components to assist them in becoming successful in academia, which in turn affects their chances to live a productive adult life. The needs of the children and youth in foster care are in need of reformation across each state throughout the nation. Since the development of foster care, the focus of intervention has and continues to be a reactive approach, instead of a tactical approach. The intervention of foster care seeks to ensure the physical safety and well-being of each child and...
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...Abstract Children being placed into the foster care system have experienced or are at risk of experiencing maltreatment. A study conducted utilizing data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting Systems (AFCARS) provides estimated risks for children in the United States. As social workers we aim to make the voice of our clients be heard. A study conducted in Canada provided just that for twenty children in foster care. These children provided valuable advice for children entering foster care, foster parents and social workers. Having this valuable information can only bring positive insight to a difficult situation. Foster Care Risks and Transitions Foster care placement for children occurs when the child or children...
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...The article I read was about a woman, Donna Chapman, who grew up in the foster care system. She had a horrible experience that still haunts her today. Her parents were divorced so her two brothers, two sisters, and she lived with their mother. Chapman’s mother had an alcohol problem. She would go out drinking and not return for weeks at a time. This would leave the oldest girl, nine years old, in charge of taking care of her siblings. Their school noticed the children were missing quite a few days of school so they called child services. Child services placed the children in temporary foster care. This happened several times while their mom had on and off problems with alcohol. Each time the children were placed in foster care the girls and boys would be split up into different foster homes. Finally the children were placed in permanent foster homes until new homes could be found. Once again the boys were split up from the girls. The boys were being physically abused by their foster parents. Eventually the children’s...
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...A sad rise in unwanted births each year has contributed to the overwhelming need for qualified parents with love to give, who would know there is no joy greater than that of parenthood. There are not enough same-sex couples or straight individuals who are qualified and willing to adopt the many children that currently reside within the foster care system. Many can not support these children, they have biological children of their own, or they simply do not want children at this point in life. The final result remains, an alarming number of unwanted children in need of stability and unconditional love. There is a solution to this devastating issue. There is a rising amount of openly gay couples and some of them would love nothing more than to have a family of their own, but it is still illegal for homosexual couples to adopt children in some states and these state governments continue to make this process difficult for all involved. Throughout the United States, and in other countries as well, there are kids awaiting a forever family and eager...
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...Foster Care in the United States Sue King Liberty University Abstract The history of foster care in the United States started with orphan trains and the Children’s Aid Society founded by Charles Loring Brace. Recent research describes the child welfare system as an organization that provides service to helpless children in need. This paper will discuss foster care as it is relates to safety, permanency, and wellbeing of children in need The role of a foster parent and the process of loss, and grief after a child leave their biological parents will be discussed. Research suggests that Courts has the final decision whether a child will stay in foster care or return home. This paper will describe the developmental impact that foster care has on children after losing their biological family. There are several risk factors associated with poverty. This paper will discuss the significance of children reuniting with their biological parents and/or being adopted for permanency. Empirical evidence from recent research confirmed that hard times during childhood was related to health problems later in life. Foster care reform, educational outcomes, economic incentives for adoption, mentors and home visitation programs should be implemented to improve the foster care system. Keywords: foster care, developmental, health problems, orphan trains Foster Care in the United States The prevalence rate is high for foster care in the United States. The history...
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...experience prior or during the foster care system might have an impact on children’s attachment styles as well. Getting mental health support is important but often unsupported. In a study conducted by Burns, Phillips, Wagner, Barth, Koko, Campbell, & Landsverk (2004), 47.9% of children in foster care reported behaviors in need of mental health services. Of that group, only 11.7% received the care that they needed (Burns et al., 2004). The type of foster care home they go into also may impact the type and amount of mental health support the children will receive. Swanke et al. (2016) showed that children placed in traditional care, which is a total stranger, are 14% more likely to receive mental help than children placed in kinship care, which can be a relative or family friend. Even then, if the child has been in the system for over one year, the mental health...
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...Behavioral Issues in Foster Care Most people do not realize foster care originated in England in 1562. By law children from poor families could be placed with wealthy families as indentured servants. Prior to this law children were placed in almshouses, otherwise known as poor houses, which later became the foundation for orphanages. In the almshouses children were subjected to horrible conditions. Many were abused both physically and sexually or were severely neglected. Conditions started to change in 1853 when New York minister Charles Loring Brace started the Free Foster Home Movement which helped make the changes for the beginning of the modern foster system as we know it (A Brief History of the United States Foster Care System). Foster care has been used for centuries, and in the last century and a half the government stepped in and developed the Dept. of Health and Human Services. The Dept. of Health and Human Services began the foster care system in order to take care of children who have been taken from their homes because of neglect or abuse. Foster care came about because the old orphanage system was not working. There was almost as much abuse and neglect in an orphanage as the homes the children were being pulled from. The government had to come up with a better system for the children pulled from their homes. The government came up with the foster care system. The way that the foster care system works is families volunteer to provide a more stable environment...
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...Welfare Act of 1980 (AACWA) and the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) in addressing the issues surrounding foster care drift. The current definitions and statistics of foster care drift are presented, along with a brief history of children “lost in the system” in the United States. The AACWA is presented, along Title IV-E, a federal plan created by Congress that provides adoption subsidies to encourage permanency placements for children with special needs. The author provides current definitions related to the term “special needs” given by Congress, as well as the specifications a child must meet in order to be eligible to receive an adoption...
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...Running head: THE FOSTER CARE AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE The Association Between Foster Care and Substance Abuse Risk Factors and Treatment Outcomes: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis Sharon H. Stoess Grand Canyon University NRS-433V March 27, 2011 The Association Between Foster Care and Substance Abuse Risk Factors and Treatment Outcomes: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis “The child welfare and substance abuse systems are integrally linked through the children and families they serve (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). There is a dearth of knowledge, however, on how children who have experienced foster care fare when they are treated for substance abuse issues as adults” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “In addition, the funds available for in-depth, comprehensive research in child welfare are limited” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “Data collected for one purpose can potentially be used to answer other questions” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “Secondary analysis involves the use of data gathered in a previous study to test new hypotheses or address new questions” (Polit & Beck, 2009, p. 295). “The issue, however, is that the original researchers may not have collected all the data needed to answer the current question” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “This article presents an exploratory study using the Alcohol and Drug Services Study (ADSS) study set” (Blome,...
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...Trauma-Informed Practices Within Foster Care Marya Feldt Washburn University Trauma-Informed Practices Within Foster Care Adolescents within the foster care system have experienced reportedly more traumatic events than the average person. These adverse experiences may be the result of poor family environments, sexual, physical, or psychological abuse which could lead to the placement of children in the foster care system. However, often traumatic experiences do not end with the placement of an adolescent into a new home. Adolescents face numerous stressors when placed in foster care, including fear of separation from siblings, friends, communities and confusion about the future (Conradi et al., 2011). Trauma experienced...
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