Foster Care Literature Review

This paper will look at the effects of foster care placement on children. The literature review will discuss how foster placement affect children educationally, mentally, behavioral, and developmental. Children are placed in foster care due to unwholesome living situations, mistreatment, and negligence. According to the 2010 census 74.2 million children are living in foster care in the United States, and 101,840 children up for adoption (foster club website). Foster care children and systems are lacking many things such as adequate elementary and secondary education. These children also, lack a stabled living environment. Not only are they lacking things, but they have issues with behavioral health and general well-being. Students either will

One of the hardships they face are in academics. Due to these kids experiencing moving around from placement to placement this could affect their academics hastily (Trout, Hagaman, Casey, Reid, Epstein, M.H., 2008). There have been studies to prove that those that are placed under foster care may complete high school, but may not continue and be ready to seek secondary or college education versus those that were not placed under foster care (Blome, 1997 et al..; 2001). Many foster care kids are affected by the move. Moving in and out of foster care brings on new schools, new peers, teachers and sometimes new care givers or foster care parents which affect these children as well. According to Brock (2010), foster care children will need help upon their first year of college while taking college courses. These children will likely be placed in educational courses to gain the adequate knowledge that they are lacking. Merdinger et al.’s (2005) study indicated that foster care kids do not survive in college academically (Merginger et al., 2005). Foster care youth may miss days or even months from school due to them moving around from place to place. Research has shown that foster care children score 16 to 20 percent below the children that are not in foster care (youth.gov). Less than 60 percent of these children graduate from high school; and with only three percent go out to seek secondary education.

Form foster care youth showed a history of using drugs and are suffering from substance abuse. Adolescents that are in foster care are five times more likely to be dependent on drugs such as; marijuana, tobacco, heroin, and other drugs as well (Colemmen-Cowger).Due to the engagement in sexual behavior it puts them at a higher chance of coming in contact with a sexually transmitted disease or infection. Youth in foster care engage in sexual behavior earlier than those who are not in foster care (Boonstra, 2011). A study has shown that 15% of youth in foster care between ages 13 and 18 have had a sexually transmitted disease once. Many of these children have been sexually abused, which places them at a higher risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease (Elze et al 2001). Many teens living in foster care are at risk of becoming pregnant earlier than those who are not in foster care (Boonstra et al