Fixing a Broken System
According to Wikipedia, the foster care system is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or a private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent". The placement of the child is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. Currently in the state of Arizona there are approximately 18,000 children in state care.
The National Adoption Center states that the goal for the children in the foster care system is usually reunite them with their birth family. But the children could be adopted when seen in the child's best interest. In a true story titled, We'll Call Him Richard, the social service agency didn't do what was in the child's best interest. A young boy named Richard had been taken out of his birth families home and into a foster home, where there had been many reports made previous to his placement. The first two years in the home, Richard had no problems. "Then, the last year, he spent more than a month in the hospital with a fractured pelvis and a burn that had turned septic from a lack of treatment. That finally sparked the investigation that led to charges being filed against the Hartwigs" (Foden-Vencil). Richard's story shows how the state failed to investigate all the reports that were made. After interviewing a social worker from a local hospital, she told me "If a report is made and considered information only, it is just recorded and no action is taken" (Lisa Schenk). The sole purpose of the system is to care for and protect these children not put them in harms way. If the system is in place to keep the children safe, then things need to be done to improve the foster care system.
Besides the state overlooking the reports of abuse made in Richard's case, there is a five step process that one must go through before becoming a foster parent. The first step is to go to an orientation to learn more about what it is like to be a foster parent. Next, is to find an agency that can assist you in learning more about the system and where to go from the orientation, which would be to apply and get a background check. If the application goes through the state will then have family/friend interviews to see if the applicants friend's and family think they are capable of caring for a child(ren). As soon as the interviews are done the state does a survey of the home to ensure a child's safety in it. The final step is having a child placed in the home. In the state of Arizona there are about 4,868 foster families to the 18,000 children currently in state care. Just as Lisa said in our interview, the state is very under-manned when it comes to the children's care. Some foster families are licensed to care for more than 2 children at a time. This is a flaw in the system. Not all foster families are not capable of caring for multiple children, but because the state is so under-manned they will put as many children as possible onto one family. There should be a system put in place to determine how many children each family can take in.
Similarly to the National Adoption Center's statement about the goal being to reunite the children with their birth family, not always is it in the children's best interest. "In the year of 2014, nearly 51% of the children who left the system were reunified with their families" (childwelfare.gov). Like Lisa had stated in the interview, "Many children are reunited with their families. Some because the investigation didn't show any signs of the children being in danger. Others because the state is way too under-manned and under paid to care for all the children" (Lisa Schenk). That statement made me question why they would put children back in homes that could pose a threat to them. This system isn't about the state, it's about the children. The foster care system should be a bigger priority to the state, whether that's with funding, or even promoting the need more.
As a result of foster care, many children come out of foster care with mental and physical delays. Studies done by multiple doctors to find the relationship between the physical and developmental problems shown in children after foster care. The study was done on 272 children between the ages of 1-7. The study showed that 53% of the children had shown signs of developmental delays. The doctors made a final statement that said, "Early comprehensive assessment for children entering foster care is strongly recommended" (Lippincott-Raven). These assessments before entering the system can really show the effects of moving throughout the system have on foster children. Children are moved continuously from home to home and very swiftly. "Hours after being in the hospital a random family came to pick me up and told me I would be staying with them for a while. They didn't give a chance to get to know them or the home" (Former foster child). The state should make it a point to keep the children in it's care in one home and not continuously move them around. Constantly moving can cause the feeling of instability, mostly once a child has turned 18 and aged out of the system.
In a journal, Employment Experiences of Homeless Young Adults: Are They Different for Youth with a History of Foster Care?, to see what former foster children who have aged out of the system go through when looking for employment. The journals states, "The FC (those with history of foster care) were significantly more likely to have mental health issues than and current substance abuse issues than NFC (those with no history of foster care). Approximately 60% of participants from each group found employment within 3 months following the training and the mean hourly wage of all participants post-training $9.27 ($9.55 NFC and $8.88 FC). Follow-up comparisons found that having mental health issue most significantly predicted whether a youth found employment following the employment training program, even while taking into consideration foster care history and all other control variables" (Sonja Lenz-Rashid). This journal illustrates the difficulty children with foster care history have finding employment. The system should be further preparing any children that go through to be ready for the real world once they have aged out. If nothing else is down decrease the number of homeless youth in our country, we can't expect to see a change.
Though there are many flaws in a system that is meant for good, there are many ways to improve them. To start the state and our country as a whole need to recognize that foster children need to have the same social and educational opportunities as the children fortunate to be home with their biological families. Another important step is to make sure the children are comfortable in their homes. Social workers can not just have families pick up a child and expect them to feel safe and stable. Children need a chance to have a bond with the family, this will allow the child to feel secure in the home. Also as a foster family, there needs to be an understanding that many of these children have baggage that is not easy for them to talk about. It is important to keep that in mind and try to understand where they are coming from in situations. Additionally, promoting and educating the public is important. This allows people to learn more about what they can do to help which can be anything from volunteering to becoming a foster parent.
It is strongly believed that we must speak up for those that can't speak for themselves, and all the children in the foster care system deserve the best for their now and future. An anonymous writer once wrote, "If you can help a child, you don't have to spend years repairing an adult", this statement is so true. We can help these children no and prepare them for the future, so that when thy grow up they can live prosperous lives. This nation needs to step up and start developing this system the way it was made to be years ago.
Hi Kar,
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