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Foster Care : Causes And Effects Of Foster Care

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Effects of Foster Care Protecting those who cannot protect themselves is very important. One form of protecting those who cannot protect themselves is foster care. Foster care has been a major form of intervention since the beginning of philanthropic endeavors to help children (Mather, Lager, & Harris, 2007). This paper will discuss how social workers in the forensic setting can serve the best interest of the client in foster care.
Child Welfare History The first notion of assisting vulnerable families in the United States reflect policies and practices from England via the English Poor Laws (Price, 1995). During this time, the number of orphan children increased because parents had succumbed to illnesses (Mather, Lager, & Harris, 2007). “With the overflow of orphans, children were being placed in almshouses, at times with infirmed, mentally ill and elderly populations” (Mather, Lager, & Harris, 2007). As citizens found out about the inappropriate placements, they began creating orphanages. Which served as housing for children whose parents were deceased or parents could not take care of them. Parents can voluntarily say they cannot take care of their child or it can be court ordered.
Children can be victims of different types of maltreatment such as neglect, medical abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse (Maschi, Bradley, & Ward, 2009). “On average, nationally, there is a report of child maltreatment every 5 seconds, and child maltreatment is substantiated every

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