The Foster System

Informative Essay: When Children Become Numbers
Alex Wahl
Sullivan University
Eng 102
Urzuablaul, Allison
4/30/2012

The Foster Care systems that are in operation today are very minimally funded and provide a very low success rate of the children that come out of the foster child system in most states. Because of these facts, the media labels this system and not only a last chance scenario but also almost as a punishment for children because they were not adopted or have not been adopted by families yet. The system has many flaws and the media exploits those flaws regularly without any action taken by the government or governing bodies that manage the system. Because of flaws and their exploitation in
the media, a cloud of negativity engulfs the system and its procedures. This cloud covers everyone who associates with the system in one form or fashion and had left what was once very functional and stable, now on the brink of demise.
Keywords: foster, funding, adoption, success, flaws,

Informative Essay: When Children Become Numbers
The Foster System contains procedures that need to better suit the times and the situations in the current society, it operates on a very minimal budget year in and year out, and the media labels it a last chance effort for survival rather than a nurturing environment,.
The negative connotation that people associate with the system not only breeds that negative energy within the people who involve themselves with the system, it is spreading to others who only see the system in various outlets. The system has many flaws that the media exploits on a regular basis, but the recurring items that centralize where the disconnect happen involve two main ideas; the system has very little funding in all aspects of its operations and the practices and procedures of the systems date back to mid 20th century with very little reform during the time leading up to the
current. The foster care system procedures and standard operating policies should make the system very stable and efficient, but if this was the case then the media exploitation would be non-existent, instead it is more prominent now than ever. Children who are in the system are here because their parents are unable to care for them, but then the foster care system places them into other “homes” where the caregiver nurtures and stabilizes the child 's environment but in many cases this does not happen for various reasons. . Many times, the system experiences cases where abuse happens within the home of the caregiver, either due to negligence by the caregiver, by another child in the home, or by even the caregiver themselves. The amount of abuse that happens in the homes has grown previously over the years. “At Boston 's Children 's Hospital the number of cases screened rose 20 percent last year. At Seattle Children 's Hospital, a 27 percent increase in confirmed cases. In Beaufort, S.C., a 63 percent increase so far this year.” (Hughes, 2010.) Across the country, the system is experiencing an increase in abuse in the foster homes, this is partly due to the state of the economy but also the lack of screening and training that the caregivers are put through before given a child to care for.
In the movie The Blindside, when Michael and his mother visited the foster child service office, the file for Michael was unable to be presented to them, as visually the office was depicted as very unkempt and also had a lot of clutter. The worker apologized but also put forth a very disapproving look toward Michael when his “mother” asked about his file, this was due to the fact that there was basically nothing listed in his file. Very few records were in his file, but they did know he ran away from various places that he was placed under the foster care. The system needs a level of control on everyone placed in care of others, and be able to account for each and every child and their entire history throughout their journey within the system. Because of the lack of solidarity of the trail of the children, some of them are lost in translation and can actually end up missing within the system of numbers; the number they are assigned when they are entered into the system much like a prison. The children are not kept track of as well as a prison, but the two systems are grossly similar in some of their functions. Because of this lack of cohesion within the different parts of the foster care system, the children in the system often felt neglected and suffer from behavioral and or emotional issues, later on in life and even at the time of placement.
The budget concerns of the foster care system is not current news, this is an ongoing issue since the inception of the foster care system. Across the country states continously slash the budgets of this system, sometimes up to half or more of the original allotment of funds for that fiscal year. “Several states have proposed or already made cutbacks to programs this year, like the Crisis Nursery in downtown Phoenix, which must now turn away children in families considered to be high risk” (Hughes, 2010). Because of this slash of funds, the care that these children expect to receieve is now being cut and their well being is feeling a great threatening due to the state governments inability to balance their funds properly. Children who were once stable or the appearance of stabilty in the system are now not receiving the proper nourishment and healthy, stimulating environment due to funds that the governments are continously squandering on other programs, some even for personal gain. “Many states still are experiencing stable or rising foster-care populations. And child-welfare advocates worry that budget cuts may undermine some of the promising new policies.” (Crary, 2010.) This statement shows that states are making improvements in the system, by speeding up adoption times and providing more front line support to prevent the system from having to intervene. This is causing some reduction in the amount of children that are within the system. “Thanks to sizable reductions in several other states, it 's a coast-to-coast phenomenon — the latest federal data, from 2008, recorded 463,000 children in foster care nationally, down more than 11 percent from 523,000 in 2002.” (Crary, 2010.) This is a very positive movement in showing the country that this system can be successful and that the Medias portrayal of the system is generally over exaggerated and very inconsistent with the topics that it emphasizes in order to draw attention to the flaws. Even though there are some successes, generally the system still need great improvement on monitoring technologies and being able to keep track of the children within the system.
Because of this lack of consistency, and the shuffling of the files for each child, the media continually latches onto this flaw within the system and exposes it to society in great numbers.
This is generally the basis for any movie or TV show that portrays a foster care system, much like the movie The Blindside. The negative portrayal of the system and how they do lose track of a person within their own system shows the director 's intent on the portrayal of the system in this movie. Michael is a child of the system due to a negligent mother and non-existent father, the system loses track of him and who he is staying with at the current time. When the family that brings him to their home wants to adopt him, the system proves to be a hassle with few consistencies and no answers are given to the mother or even Michael himself. The case worker refers to Michael as a number in the system, and since there were very few records in his file, his case worker seems to brush it off as a normal everyday occurrence rather than a big issue, since this is a human being they are dealing with and not just an inanimate object that is easily replaceable The way the media portrays this situation is eerily accurate unfortunately for many foster children in lower income communities or communities in which the foster care system is extremely lacking in
funding.
Not only in the movies, but in real life do the media bring out the negative in the system and tries to create large scale hysteria for any issue it can find. Child abuse in the foster care system is becoming a larger issue and needs addressing by governmental agencies, but not in the way that exploits in the way the media in the past continues to portray them. The stories of child abuse in the foster care system sees continual increases in recent years due to the recession, and among other economic situations and struggles across the country. Because of this, the media brings to the surface all of these issues to the attention of the citizens of this country and expect them to rally around to instantly reform the system. It seems like everyday there is another story on on Facebook, Twitter, or any of the numerous news outlets that is profiling a story that involves child abuse and generally involves a foster child in a situation the system should protect them from, whether it be rape, murder or death. Reform for the system is in much need, but an overnight reform is a lofty expectation, even for this country and the governmental process would take a significant amount of time for any sort of national reform to happen for the foster care system as a whole. Because media outlets are very prominent in today’s culture, the media immerses the viewers in these stories much more frequently,so they are more likely to remember the media’s portrayal of the system, whether it be positive or negative at that given moment. Because of this, the view of the people can change very rapidly depending on the mood the media outlets are in at that given moment. People change views based on 2 main points, the views of their peers and the morals that they hold within themselves, the media is just a major influence of those points and shows the citizens what their choices are in the situation and gives them the details with the bias of that media outlet.
While the foster care system is continually experiencing small victories in current society, there is still a great deal of issues that need immediate attention and correction in order to better serve the community and foster the children of the next generation. These children deserve the best possible education and the ability to grow and flourish within the community. The reasons the foster care systems are not successful in the current situation is because the system has procedures that need to better suit the times and the situations in the current society, it operates on minimal funding and continually struggles for enough funding to keep the system functioning properly, and the media labels it a last chance effort for survival rather than a nurturing environment. Because of these main issues along with others, the system that could be showing the greatest successes within any community are not, they are merely scraping by and doing what they can with the resources the government has provided them. Granted a lot of effort will need to be put into this system across the country in order for success to be recognized, but in the end it needs to be done in order to better serve the country and the children who benefit from this system. The utopian scenario is when every child is adopted when they enter the system so that they can be nurtured and given the opportunity to succeed and have a bright future. In the current generation of foster children, the uptopian scenario has the potential to present itself to the current society, whether or not the leaders choose to take the steps needed to reach this level is a completely different story.

References
1. Hughes, S. (2010, May 11). Child abuse spikes during recession. . Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-504103_162-5029133.html
2. Jackson, L. J., O 'Brien, K., & Pecora, P. J. (2011). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Foster Care Alumni: The Role of Race, Gender, and Foster Care Context. Child Welfare, 90(5), 71-93
3. Crary, D. (2010, June 5). Budget cuts threaten trend in foster-care placements. The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012034424_fostercare06.html
4. Hancock J.L. (Producer/Director). (2009). The Blindside [Motion picture]. United States: Alcon