Children In Foster Care

Foster care has become an important topic to researchers today. Studies by various sources like Children and Youth Services Review, Child Welfare, Child Abuse and Neglect, Pediatrics, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, and Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, show that foster children are more likely to fail out of high school and end up in jail than non-foster children. The researchers say that the majority of foster kids are not prepared for the world after foster care. Researchers point out that children outside of the foster care system have their parents for housing, money, and overall care, well past their 18th birthday. Foster children on the other hand, are dropped by the system and left to fend for themselves

This is where all of the authors could agree. One researcher, in particular, said that simply removing a child from their family, even though they are not good families, can be a highly traumatic experience for the child. (Bruskas, pg. 73). The maltreatment they received while in their "birth" homes is also majorly traumatic. In one study researchers found that the most common type of maltreatment is neglect coming in at 41.2% followed by physical abuse at 17.6% and then sexual abuse at 2.5%. (Hussey, Guo, pg. 493). The dramatic experiences can and do affect the social aspects of the child's life. Because of their mistreatment, it becomes harder for them to create bonds with their foster parents, teachers, and peers, which in turn causes them to be moved from homes and placed elsewhere creating an unstable environment. (Newton, Litrownik, Landsverk, pg. 1364). The feeling of abandonment not only when they were removed from their first home but also when they are moved from home to home in foster care can cause them to have lowered self-esteem. (Burley, Halpern, pg. 12) The child in foster care feels like they aren't good enough and this feeling gets reinforced every time they are moved from a home. Constant movement can affect their behavior and is traumatic. (Newton, Litrownik, Landsverk, pg. 1364). After going through so many traumatic experiences to foster care youth's behavior is forever affected, making them less trusting and more problematic. After leaving the foster care program many report having a hard time finding a job or are finding themselves in jail as a criminal, according to a study conducted by Bruskas. (Bruskas, pg. 71). Traumatic experiences make the overall life of a foster child harder during the program and also