The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (hereafter referred to as the Midwest Study) originated in response to interest by policy makers regarding the success of state child welfare services receiving federal funds and the well-being of former foster youths age 18 to 21 throughout their first eight years of independent living. The study focused on foster youths, typically considered high risk due to the factors that led to foster care placement, transitioning to adulthood who are discharged from foster care at age 18 in most states (Courtney, Terao, & Bost , 2004, p. 3). The limited available research suggests that these youths “have limited education and employment experience, relatively poor mental and physical health, and a relatively high likelihood of experiencing unwanted outcomes such as homelessness, incarceration, and non-marital pregnancy (Collins, 2001; McDonald , Allen, Westerfelt, & Piliavin, 1996, (as quoted by Courtney, Terao, & Bost , 2004, p.3)). By 2008, federal funding to states for transitioning foster youth included post-secondary education and training vouchers, reimbursement for foster care maintenance for eligible youths until age 21, and mandates to assist these youth in developing a self-directed transition plan during the 90 days prior to exiting care. These changes to federal policy were due, in part, to findings from the Midwest Study (Courtney et al., 2011). Although these changes appeared promising, the $140 billion translated into only about $1400 per youth, hardly enough to pay for the services needed (Courtney, 2005). Social problems addressed by the study The 20,000 adolescents leaving the foster care system each year, must attempt to live independently, and... ... middle of paper ... ...itiative. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from http://www.jimcaseyyouth.org/filedownload/331 The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2007, May) Time for Reform: Aging Out and On Their Own. St. Louis, MO: Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Retrieved February 18, 2012 from http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=26082. Samuels, Gina (2008) A Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime: Relational Permanence Among Youth Adults with Foster Care Backgrounds. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. Retrieved February 8, 2012 from http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/old_reports/415.pdf Secret, Mosi (2011, October 20). A Deal To Help Foster Youths Find Housing. New York Times, N.Y./Region. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/nyregion/nyc-agrees-to-find-housing-for-ex-foster-youths.html?_r=1&ref=fostercare (accessed on February 22, 2012).
Unfortunately, “foster children who have moved multiple times often develop detachment disorder: they become unable to attach to others as a defense mechanism” (Babbel). Due to this, children are taught to keep to themselves. They fear that if they open up to people, then they will become more distraught when the time comes for them leave. Consequently, their outside persona becomes a shell, while their true emotions become trapped inside. As a result, they have trouble forming strong relationships later on in life. This can especially prove to be troublesome in marriages, where these ex-foster children act upon their training to build walls against others. Thus, this psychological damage can haunt foster care children for the rest of their
Jeune, G.P, McCall, S., and Hamilton, L. (2007) Understanding Looked after Children: An Introduction to Psychology for Foster Care. London: Jessica Kingsley Pub.
Koh, Eun, et al. "What explains instability in foster care? Comparison of a matched sample of children with stable and unstable placements." Children and Youth Services Review 37 (2014): 36-45. Web. 15 July 2014.
This paper will contain research done about foster care, including a brief history and progressing along to the system today. This research interested me because it is a professional career option after graduation. I found both positives and negatives about the foster care system that children and foster parents go through on a daily basis. As the paper progresses I will be explaining these positives and negatives in more detail. Throughout the paper I will be referencing different scholarly sources that explain foster care in different ways. Overall, this paper will show different aspects that the general public may never know about foster care.
Okpych, : Nathanael. "Policy Framework Supporting Youth Aging-out of Foster Care through College."Children Youth Service Review (2012): n. pag. Science Direct. Web.
There is nearly 400,000 children in out-of-home care in the United States right now (Children’s Right). Just about every day children are being shipped in and out of foster homes and group homes. Most people want the best for children in foster care and decide to take care of them until their parents can possibly recover. The foster care system can have both a negative or positive effect on children, foster parents, and biological parents because of the gaps in the system. Foster cannot not be avoided but the some aspects of the foster care system can be avoided if the missing gaps were filled.
The importance of family partnership meetings (FPM) or sometimes called family team meetings, is well established. Studies about FPM as an engagement tool in the foster care system indicates that engagement is an important component to achieving permanency for foster children (Crampton, Usher, Wildfire, Webster, & Cuccaro-Alamin, 2011; Boldis, & Tomlinson, 2014). It has been demonstrated that FPM increases biological family members’ participation in permanency planning (Crampton, Usher, Wildfire, Webster, & Cuccaro-Alamin, 2011; Gladstone et al., 2012; Montserrat, López, Bravo, & del Valle, 2013). Permanency is more likely to be long term when biological families are active members of the FPM (Boldis, & Tomlinson,
For many teenagers, their 18th birthday is an exciting time in their lives. They are finally becoming a legal adult, and are free from the rules and restrictions created under their parents. But not all teens feel the same joy about this coming of age. For the hundreds of thousands of children living in foster care in the United States, this new found freedom brings anxiety and fear. Where will they live after turning 18? How will they get the medications they may need? How will they find a job with little to no experience? How will they put themselves through school? Aging out of foster care is a serious issue among America’s youth. Every year, 20,000 children will age out with nowhere to go, being expected to be able to survive on their own (Reilly 728). Young adults face various obstacles upon aging out of foster care, such as multiple health problems/issues, homelessness, and finding/maintaining a job.
The foster system intends to place children in homes where they will remain until they can find permanent residence with an adoptive family. Sadly, this is often not the case with children placed privatized homes and they end up bouncing from home to home until they eventually age out of the system forced to enter into adulthood with no permanent family ties. Over the past decade the number of teenagers aging out of the system without a permanent family has risen from 19,000 to 23,000 per year. These teenages enter into the world without emotional, relational, or financial support and therefore possess a greater risk of poverty as well as low academic achievement. This causes many of these teenagers to rely on government benefits during their adult lives which places a heavier burden on taxpayers. The National Council for Adoption reported that the 29,000 teenagers that aged out of the system in 2007 will cost over one billion dollars per year in public assistance and support. These teenagers who age out are also found to be at greater risk of concerning behaviors, such as: creating disciplinary problems in school, dropping out of school, becoming unemployed and homeless, becoming teenage parents, abusing alcohol and drugs, and committing crimes. The privatized system does not have the best interest of the children in mind and
To many outsiders, the foster care system may appear to be a safe haven for those children that are abused or abandoned by their birth family. This is correct, but the system with which it is based, has many flaws. A background check is mandatory for all foster parents, but a test to see if a child 's temperament matches that caregiver 's parenting style, is not. Now, this is seen as a minor issue, but there is not enough evidence to support this. Plus, there are many other, much worse reasons, why the system is not perfect. Altogether, the foster care system and a multitude of its rules are flawed and may actually be negatively affecting foster children.
Hudson, Angela L., and Karabi Nandy. "Comparisons of Substance Abuse, High-risk Sexual Behavior and Depressive Symptons Among Homeless youth with and without a History of Foster Care Placement." EBSCOhost. EBSCO, Oct 2012. Web.11 Dec.2013.
Another obstacle Olivia and Sabreen encounter is the lack of adult support in the foster care system. Family support is a crucial variable mediating the influence of neighborhood on a child’s development (Burton & Jarrett, 2000); nonetheless, Olivia and Sabreen receive little support and guidance and must quickly survive on their own.
Pabustan-Claar, J. (2007). Achieving permanence in foster care for young children: a comparison of kinship and non-kinship placements. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 16, 61-94.
Goldsmith, D.F., Oppenheim, D. & Wanlass, J. (2004). Separation and reunification: Using attachment theory and research to inform decisions affecting the placements of children in foster care. Juvenile and family court journal, 55(2), 1-14.
By allowing each transitional youth to receive necessary care, he is able to get a job in the community instead of committing illegal actions as well as able to purchase a home instead of living on the streets. It is important that every child welfare worker is aware of the Affordable Care Act for transitional youth and how to help the young adult become covered and receive the help he desires. By giving young adults that have aged out of the foster care mental, health, and substance abuse care, will help the United States experience less crime rate later on in the young adult’s life and give him more positive opportunity to better the community, state and