Foster Care Case Study

The purpose of this source is to show how in California they have received costs to allow people up to the age of twenty-one to stay in the foster care system. Extending the age to twenty-one can be in any state, but they are not required to do so. The researchers got thoughts from others presented in three different groups: “(1)transition-age youth, (2) child welfare workers, and (3) government program data.” (Napolitano et al., 2015) From all these groups they have come to the conclusion that caseworkers almost half of the time do not have the same children for over one year. Thirty percent of children have been on a caseworkers case for over two years. This wide range is due to the age of the children. The younger children were then asked a question about staying in the system. Two-thirds of the children showed they wanted to stay in the foster care system after they reached the age of eighteen. This information is presented that foster care at times does not develop PTSD. Foster care is a place that allows children to be safe and the children have very good attitudes toward staying. Caseworkers then spoke and said the reason some children may want to stay in the care is because of the housing situation. Though the caseworker's main goal is to make sure the

Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people "age out" of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services (. Several studies show that without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, this older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of adverse situations. Compared to other youth in the United States, kids who age out of foster care are more likely to not have completed high school or received a GED, they often suffer from mental health problems, many are unemployed and live in poverty, and nearly 40% become homeless.

Over 600,000 children in the United States are in the foster care system. Reasons include, abuse, neglect and abandonment. These children lack nurturing environments and stable homes. Children within the foster care system have more mental, physical and developmental problems. It is imperative to understand the challenges children entering the foster care system are exposed to. The system works best when children are provided nurturing, and short-term care until they can be placed back home safely or a permanent adoptive family. For many children, however, the stay is longer, with 30% remaining in temporary care for over two years. Staying in the system is detrimental to the child’s well-being. The foster care system is an unsuccessful intervention for children that cultivates development, health and mental issues.

Nationwide, nearly 397,122 children live in foster care. In California, which has the largest foster care population than any other state, the number of foster youth has tripled in the last 20 years (Source: AFCARS Report 2013) due to certain circumstance such as; physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or caretaker inability. Welfare workers turn over at continuing high rates, and many are underpaid, poorly trained, overworked and demoralized. Foster Care system welfare lacks providing services to prepare older youths in foster care in independent living are lacking. Many youths that exited the system discuss their experience such as, being let down, lack of role models, poor training programs, and lack of basic living skills. Foster

Adolescents aging out of the foster care system face many challenges. Most youth who have reached legal adulthood have been taught essential life skills and have a safety net of family and community support systems (Paul-Ward & Lambdin-Pattavina, 2016). Foster children often age out of the system with little or no social network and lacking the skills to acquire basic necessities such as employment, housing or healthcare. The absence of these two important fundamental needs increases the likelihood of perpetuating a generational cycle of poverty, abuse/neglect, criminality and substance abuse.

An adult’s psychological development depends on one’s childhood experiences with adults and their capability of providing nurturance, protection, trust, and security to the developing child. Children with current and previous ties to the foster care system were found to have behavioral, emotional, and social well-being issues. The United States averages more than 400,000 children in foster care during the year. Amongst these 400,000 children, as many as 50% have developmental disorders or psychiatric diagnoses (Hutchinson). Children placed within the foster care system are more likely to be found to have mental health issues due to the inadequacy

The foster care system has been stretched too thin as the turn of the 21st century rolled around. Higher entrance into the system with new policies and lower staff has given way to a new problem-the highly abusive environment that surrounds the whole system. The mistreatment of the children and their foster families within in the system is now a prevalent issue in the Child Welfare Organization. The long-term effects of the abusive foster care system comes from the mismanagement of the system such as the instability within placement, lack of rights to foster families, ignoring culture heritage and misused policies that create detrimental health for the children in later years. The harsh foster care system under the control of the government in the U.S. can be changed with the addition of reorganization to the agency via more staff and communication and stability through more permanent placements for the children as well as the families. First I will define what I mean by abuse and address the current problems that the foster care system is facing such as instability and mismanagement. Then I will explain what the possible negative long-term effects of entrance into the foster care system. Finally I will discuss what steps could be taken to change this situation such as the creation of stable housing and uniform programs for the foster care system.

There are over 428,000 children in the foster system(“Children rights”). Every day 1,200 kids enter the foster system in the United States(“Together”) and theses children come with multiple issues when they enter the foster care system. Children enter the foster care system for several reasons but mostly it is due to neglect or abuse from the parents. As a former foster child I have been one of the kids that have suffered for what there parents have done. I have suffered from depression . Children that have gone through the foster care system have a higher risk of having mental health issues such as depression and anxiety as well as long term physical issues. Ultimately , these issues pose challenges that affect every aspect of the child's life.

One of the most pressing issues facing foster youth in America is employment following emancipation. Former foster youth face many challenges in becoming self-sufficient adults due to the lack of a support system that a traditional family would provide for their children. There is an insufficient safety net for a particularly vulnerable group and the statistics reflect poor care for this demographic. By age 24, roughly half of all former foster youth are unemployed; those who are employed earn a median income of $7,500 annually. In their first four years following their aging out of foster care, more than half will be homeless or in a shelter at some point; up to 70% will be “reliant on government assistance.”

The second problem hindering foster care is that teens that are placed in group homes often age out of the system without proper support. When placed into group homes, children and especially teens are left without the chance to connect with a permanent, adoptive family and the connections to create a supportive system. Unfortunately, the reality of aging out of the system is pretty upsetting. One in five teens who have aged out of the system will become homeless, more than 40% of these teen won’t complete high school and within two years of leaving foster care, one in four will end up tangled up in the justice system.

Although foster care can be a great system by providing kids with homes, sometimes we don’t see what’s happening behind the closed doors. The children that enter the “system” typical have experience or will experience emotional or physical trauma that impacts their development. If children’s mental states are not properly

Often when identifying problems within the child welfare system, only the very surface level issues get scratched: too many children having to enter, not enough willing foster families, and non-adequate staffing. However there are problems that are much more serious and often looked past. The foster care system faces various problems including the developmental and mental health issues that affect children and the struggles teenagers encounter once they age out of the system. With innovative new plans like intensive training for workers and foster families to create communities of support and establishing a system of prolonged and permanent health attention, these problems could be fixed.

Today, in America, a child enters foster care every two minutes (“Statistics on Foster Care”). Thousands of children enter and exit the foster care system each year with some being adopted, some returning to their homes, and others being emancipated and set to be on their own (Statistics on Foster Care”). The foster care system was first put in place to take children out of overcrowded and underfunded orphanages. It was later transformed to help children from abusive, deceased or negligent families be put into a safer, non-permanent home (“Statistics on Foster Care”). With the thousands of kids put into foster care each year, many are sent to loving homes, however, some children are sent to neglectful and abusive homes that can be equal to or worse than their original living conditions. The current foster care system in place in the United States provides insufficient and unsafe care as well as causing short and long-term negative effects on the children placed in their care.

Being a teenager can be difficult enough because during this time people learn so much about themselves and begin to develop into the person they are supposed to become, and doing so can be even more difficult when the teenager is bouncing around from different homes, schools, and families without a mom or dad to support them. Having a good foster or adoptive parent is crucial for these teenagers to have some stability in there life, and someone to look up to and guide them through life. With a good foster care parent or adoptive parent these older children can have the stability in their life that they need, along with a good role model and guide to teach them life lessons. Jessica Sullivan wrote an article that suggests several ways people can improve and change a teenagers life entitled “Why More People Should Consider Fostering Teenagers.” Sullivan writes about how a foster parent can help guide them through life and the important decisions people need to make. A foster parent can guide someone through their first heartbreak, help someone with homework, call someone to catch up and chat, support someone in their first varsity game, help someone decide which college to go to, and support someone at their wedding. Sullivan also claims a foster parent can teach teens important life lessons that teens can not learn in school, lessons such

Foster care is a framework that grown-ups deal with the children who cannot live with their parents. At the point when they cannot, unwilling or unfit to administer to children, they must locate another home. Now and again there is almost no chance that they can come back to their originally guardians, so they require another perpetual home. In all cases, the children require a spot to live in a lasting home. Foster care is expected to be an interim living circumstance for children. The objective is to be brought together with parents or find another suitable lasting settlement. This may incorporate a supportive home, guardianship, or arrangement with a relative. At times drives the band that creates among foster care of temporary parents to receiving Children. Now and again, Children are set in a long haul foster arrangement. For more seasoned teenagers, a foster home system gives preparing and assets to set up a move to autonomous living. In the United States