Essay On Foster Care

Society understands our current system is awful, but no one is protesting for a reform, or they’re aren’t trying hard enough. Child safety is the number one objective of the system, but it’s not working like it should. “In 2015, over 670,000 children spent time in U.S. foster care” (Foster Care). Of those 670,000 cases, more than half could be eliminated with a reform in the system. The focus should be on keeping families together, rather than taking them apart.

Many children are suffering due to various complications in their life. Children of all ages end up in the foster care system year after year. Their hardships influence them to feel really depressed and stoic. Many people do not read autobiographies, but the book, Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter teaches people about the complications of a first-hand foster child, how the foster care system is, and book reviews of famous authors and well-known magazines, as well. The story gives hope to people who believe there is no way out anymore, and it influences upon the world’s culture greatly.

The organization under investigation is Child Protective Services, also referred to as CPS, which is an agency within the Department of Family and Protective Services. CPS is a governmental organization that has existed for years. The agency is designed to protect children from abuse and neglect. There are numerous cases that are called in on a daily basis in the state of Texas, and it is the duty of state employees to address all allegations in a timely manner. The positions held as a caseworker within the agency are either Investigator, Special Investigator, Family Based Safety Services Specialist, or Conservatorship Specialist. Due to the required work and deadlines involved with being a caseworker at CPS, the job can become very

The number of children in the foster care system continues to increase. While the foster care system is essential in helping abused, abandoned, and neglected children, many children remain in foster care for long periods of time when family reunification or adoption is planned. Court delays can often extend the time between when children enter the foster care system and when they are placed into permanent homes. Significant differences exist in the quality of care and outcomes for children depending on their race and ethnicity. The percentage of children of color in the foster care system is larger than the percentage of children of color among the general U.S. population. However, the occurrence of child abuse and neglect is at about the same rate in all racial/ethnic groups.

The Foster Care System with the kids who are in it is a massive social issue that America is facing today. There are more than 640,000 foster children in the United States every year. There are 23,000 foster children living in group homes at one time. There are 32,000 who live in institutions, and twenty-seven states do not meet federal abuse and neglect standards. (Attention) Personally, I am a foster sister, because my family currently fosters. Therefore, we see the issues and needs of fostering, daily. (Rapport and Credibility) This speech will discuss the importance of the nature of foster care, the catastrophic problems of foster care, and the proposed solution for the foster care system in America. (Preview)

In todays’ society many Americans never think about our foster care system. Foster care is when a child is temporarily placed with another family. This child may have been abused, neglected, or may be a child who is dependent and can survive on their own but needs a place to stay. Normally the child parents are sick, alcohol or drug abusers, or may even be homeless themselves. We have forgotten about the thousands of children who are without families and living in foster homes. Many do not even know how foster care came about. A few of the earliest documentation of foster care can be found in the Old Testament. The Christian church put children into homes with widowers and then paid them using collection from the church

The foster care system in Texas is broken and policies like SB-4 and HB-3859 continue to fracture the system even more. The high volume of children entering into the system and the substantial number of caseloads for social workers are exacerbated by the current policies. It is our job as policymakers and policy analysts to address this issue so that ALL the children of the Lone Star state have a better future. Throughout this memo, I will highlight the current condition of the foster care

As of September, 2011 in the United States over 400,540 children were in the foster care system. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2011) defines foster care as, ?A 24-hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the State agency has placement and care responsibility.? Of the 400,540 children in foster care nationwide, 195,400 were Floridians. With the fifty social service programs nationwide, Florida is one of a very few states in the nation with statewide privatization of social services, for this study, with an emphasis on privatization of foster care. In the present paper, the privatization of foster care plays a significant role in the care and placement of Florida?s abused, neglected, and abandoned children. The major thrust of privatization of foster care was implemented under the administration of Governor Jeb Bush, a staunch political conservative. The purpose of privatization was to provide better foster care services to stake-holders, primarily to find permanent homes for foster children. The Bush administration was always trying to adhere to the conservative mantra of fiscal reduction as it pertained to social services

In the past few decades there has be an increasing amount of children placed in the foster care system. With the amount of rising teen pregnancies and maternal drug abuse means increasing numbers of infants abandoned at birth. There have been many cases of child abuse or neglect that have been on the rise. State and local agencies are unable to suitably supervise foster homes or arrange adoptions. Statistics show that many children will spend most of their childhood and teenage years in the foster care system, which has shown to leave emotional scars on the child. Today, Child Welfare groups are looking for federal funding and legislation to increase programs and services aimed at keeping families together.

Benefits of the foster care system include: keeping children out of abusive homes; providing stability; and cultivating secure attachments. In general, proponents of the foster care system believe it plays an essential role in providing a safe and stable environment for maltreated, neglected, and abused children (Lockwood, Friedman, & Christian, 2015). In fact, “advocates suggest that family situations that necessitate the use of the foster care system are often very complex and therefore require patience and time. They emphasize that the temporary nature of foster care is the best solution while state agencies work to achieve family reunification or otherwise resolve the family crisis” (Geraldine & Wagner, para 4, 2015).

The chosen population of interest for the course project is children who are placed in foster care. Children in foster care are considered vulnerable due to a variety of reasons for which they are taken away from home and placed in the child welfare system. Foster care children are often removed from their home due to physical abuse, drug exposure, or in some cases due to parental inability to fulfill the child basic necessities. Foster care children are at greater risk of mental, health, and behavioral problems (Lovie, Beadnell, & Pecora, 2015). Case management is an essential part of the care plan to improve the outcomes of the population of interest. Foster care children face additional problems when the health care system is inadequate.

For 30 years, advocates, program administrators, and politicians have joined to encourage even more reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Their efforts have been successful, with about three million cases of suspected child abuse having been reported in 1993. Large numbers of endangered children still go unreported, but a serious problem had developed: Upon investigation, as many as 65 percent or the reports now being made are determined to be "unsubstantiated", raising serious civil liberties concerns and placing a huge burden on investigative staffs.

One of the ways foster care is inhibited is that the separation of the child from their parents and placement in a foster home can be traumatic for the child. In some instances where the child is not safe in their home, the first choice may be to remove the child and place them in foster care. Both the parents and child have a hard time accepting the situation. This separation causes conflicts and resistance from the child (Crosson-Tower, 2014, p. 316). Other myriad adjustments, such as lifestyle change, new school, new friends and neighbors, and at times a new culture, also inhibit the effectiveness of foster care placement. Foster care can create an environment of

Maximizing the accessibility of foster care sectors would allow for substantial attention to more foster care children, leading to better mental health in an average foster care child. Furthermore, local institutions could be allowed more flexibility in terms of federal funding usage, which could result in a more centralized focus on providing the best outcomes for children involved in foster care. Changes in current policies, such as the aforementioned ASFA, would additionally aid in lessening the unclarity in cases and allow for a greater focus on the well-being of children. Removing children from unfit environments must be done at a faster rate and within maximum reasoning. Children are the future, and we need to attempt to help the future be the best it can

The second account of a changing stance toward children’s rights was evolution alongside women’s rights. Before this time, women and children were seen as unimportant under the law, whereas a father was given almost total control over all matters regarding his wife and children. If a father was violent or neglectful, society simply turned their shoulder to it. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, laws pertaining to the family system began to change. A new law recognized the equal rights of fathers and mothers with the mother’s rights reigning over the fathers in regards to the children. Also, the legal system began viewing children as important to the future of society, therefore “appropriate objects of the court’s