...Our Foster System Children are the backbone of any society. They represent what will come of that future society. Unfortunately, not all children are cared for, this can be a problem when we look at how children in the foster care system will grow up. When looking at the present time, there is major flaws in the current foster care system. The children today are not being properly taken care of. There are many reasons including: Poor funding, lack of homes, and settling issues. Overall, the flaws are making an unstable households and the issue must be fixed. The foster system of today is broken, the child inside are struggling mentally and physically; the system needs to be improved, the opposing view would be that foster care is successful...
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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 who age out of the foster care system are vulnerable to adversity. Research shows that half of them age out of the system without a high school diploma, employment, or housing security (Stott, 2011). Furthermore, about 25% of young adults have reported substance use and 15% have dependence disorders. The youth population in the American foster care system is five times more likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse disorders than others who are not in the system (Meyers, Kaynak, Clements, Bresani, & White, 2013). According to Garcia and Courtney (2011), 19.2% of youth in the child welfare system met the criteria for substance abuse and dependency. When adolescents are in the foster care system for long periods of time, which is usually...
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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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...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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...author once spoke, “If you can help a child, you don’t have to spend years repairing an adult.” Often times social issues are overlooked if an individual is not directly affected by them. As a result of this, a program that gets forgotten about is the Foster Care system. The idea is to put abused children in safe homes for a brief period of time until their original home is pronounced safe again or if they get the opportunity to be adopted. However, the foster care system is broken. The entire foundation is cracked, leaving permanent problems with temporary solutions. The admissions process in becoming a foster parent is the leading factor to all other foster care problems. In the state of Ohio, becoming a foster...
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...placed in foster care when their home is no longer a safe place for them to stay. A court will grant the state temporary ownership of the child, thus allowing the state to enroll the child into the foster care system. The effects of foster care on mental health have been a topic of increasing concern in recent years. Research supports that children in foster care are at a higher risk of experiencing mental health issues due to certain factors that they are exposed to. The goal of foster care is to provide children with a safe and nurturing environment, though the type of placement of a child and how many times they have been moved greatly affects the chances of poor mental health. Studies found that a higher number of placements...
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...13 March, 2024. Foster Care Permanency: How its Absence Effects Youth Aging out of foster care and the brokenness within the foster care system have long-lasting effects on youth and families. At any given time in the United States, there are about 400,000 kids in care. The foster care system's goal is to unite youth back to their families, find permanent placement, and provide a safe, loving family for them in the meantime. Though there are good intentions, it still fails to fully achieve that, leaving lasting negative effects on its youth. According to the research, foster kids overall end up with much more negative outcomes, as the experience takes a toll on many aspects of their lives and can leave...
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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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...The safety of children should be one of the main goals throughout the world. Foster care is something that can help children stay safety. In the 1800s, people started to do something about children who were not taken care of. It started when children were told to work in the fields and in the house with their parents instead of getting an education. The children, therefore, set off to New York City. When they reached New York, they were taken by families that were going to help and not force them to work at such a young age. The main issue that raised awareness were cases involving parents harming their children. Some cases the children would pass away because of health issues. In the first article, Amy L. Ai et. al. (2013), writes about...
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...As of 2014, more than 650,000 children were involved in foster care. More than half of these children were non-white (Foster Care - Children's Rights). The numbers continue to rise as years go by and we are seeing these children become products of their environment. Once they age out of foster care nearly a quarter are homeless, sixty percent of males have been convicted of a crime, and more than two-thirds of women have a child (Fessler). With all of these children under the care of the states, these children will soon age out and become members of our society. With almost forty-seven percent of former foster children being unemployed (CR Staff) they are contributing nothing to society, thus making this a huge societal problem. So, what happens...
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...Introduction On November 2007, The Oregonian began an investigation on children in foster care that had been prescribed powerful psychiatric medications. These medications were given four times the rate of other children. Concerns have been on the rise for children that are given “psychotropic medications”. Primarily the concern is high for those children in foster care, and who receive Medicaid, because they are in a system that has lost structure of the importance of the health and welfare of children and adolescence. Also because foster children are more likely to have more emotional and social issues, and need treatment to include psychiatric medication. Psychotropic medications are those that affect the nervous system and produce many changes in behavior or awareness. These medications can be given in the form of a tranquilizer, sedative or antidepressant. Changes should be made to prevent how children receive medications, to deter overdosing and complications from misdiagnosing the child’s illness. The effect that psychiatric drugs have on children can be sometimes upsetting. Psychiatric or psychotropic medications are used to help children with behavioral impairment. Changes should be made that will benefit children in situations as mentioned. Not only in foster care but any child that is prescribed psychiatric (psychotropic) medications. Implementing change that will assure children are prescribe the right mediations, and are given the medication according to their...
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...Children and adolescents in the foster care system are at a higher risk for psychopathology than other children in the general population in our country. In February of 2015, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced the bipartisan legislation to improve foster care services for thousands of vulnerable youth in America. This bill would improve health care and mental health services to children and young people in the foster care system to ensure that effective community-based options are available for them and their families. “Therapeutic foster care, often referred to as treatment foster care (TFC), is the evidenced-informed trauma-informed and highly effective placement of children and youth with serious medical,...
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...include ARKids First health insurance for children, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) and Medicaid. DHS uses Medicaid that is both federally and state funded to pay for 64 percent of the babies born in Arkansas each year and for the care of 69 percent of the state’s nursing home patients. Additionally, DHS protects children and the elderly who have been abused or neglected; finds adoptive homes for foster children; funds services for the elderly such as congregate and home-delivered meals and regulate nursing homes. While regulating childcare facilities, they also support high-quality early childhood education; treat and serve youth in the juvenile justice system; oversee services for blind Arkansans; runs residential facilities for people with developmental disabilities; manages the Arkansas State Hospital and Arkansas Health Center for those with acute behavioral health issues; and supports nonprofit, community and faith-based organizations that depend on volunteers to continue programs vital to our communities. The agency also partners with community mental health care centers to provide mental health services to almost 74,000 people each year. Over all, DHS serves more than 1.2 million Arkansans every single year. To manage these services and programs efficiently, DHS has 10 divisions and five support offices headquartered in Little Rock in addition to the 85 county offices. Among those...
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...Imagine growing up, always moving houses and families, always prone to drugs or neglect. This is the reality of countless foster kids well into adulthood. Without stability and a family to love, they are at a disadvantage and are proven to have less academic and career success. Kids aging out of foster care tend to have lower graduation rates and have difficulty finding a job. They are forced to navigate a constantly changing life, which can lead to negative outcomes such as homelessness, financial struggles, and social anxiety. Shockingly, as of 2023, over 225,000 teenagers have aged out of the system. Only half of these children are reunited with their parents, and this number has decreased since 2021. Only 37% of teens in foster care are...
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