The Pros And Cons Of The Foster Care System

The foster care system intervenes and places youth in substitute homes when biological or primary caregivers are unable to deliver adequate care for their children. The foster care system is a federal service that aims to ensure safety, stability, and wellbeing to such vulnerable children (Valdez, Lim, & Parker, 2015). One study on former foster youth adults found that 90% of the participants had experienced at least one form of childhood maltreatment before entering the foster care system. Most participants experienced more than one kind of abuse. The most common combination of maltreatment included sexual abuse paired with another form of abuse (40.8%). The next two most common combinations included physical abuse with neglect (16.6%), and

To be ward of the court means that a person, usually a minor, has a guardian appointed by the court to care for and take responsibility for him or her. A governmental agency may take temporary custody of a minor for his or her protection and care if the child is suffering from parental neglect or abuse, or has been in trouble with the law. Such a child is a ward of the court or a ward of the state (California Welfare and Institutions Code). Children

According to Child Welfare Outcomes 2009-2012 Report to Congress, there were approximately 390,000 youth in foster care nationwide. California had the largest number of foster youth- 54,000 youth (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Of those foster youth, 21,000 resided in Los Angeles County, the highest number in any county in the U.S. (Number of Children in Foster Care, 2015). New York followed as 2nd state with highest number of foster youth. It had approximately 25,000 foster youth that year- less than half of that in California. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014).

Academic Success has been described as the fulfillment of the educational goal delegated in the student educational plan (SEP) provided to each student by his or her counselor. The SEP is a device and/or document that allows the student and the institution together to identify the educational objectives of the student and to formulate a methodology for reaching the objectives. This path depicts the courses, services, and mutual agreements to which the institution and student adhere in order to ensure the student 's success and the integrity of the institution 's efforts to provide the student with all possible assistance for reaching his or her educational goals. (http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/SSSP/Matriculation/Resources/StudentEdPlan.pdf). The completion of an SEP concludes that the student has reached his or her educational goal, therefore reached academic success at the community college level. Active participation in the GSP at LAPC is described as the attendance of at least three meet-ups each semester, and the attendance of two counseling appointments with a foster youth counselor each