The Importance of the Foster Care System
The Importance of the Foster Care System
According to childwelfare.gov (2012), there are about 400,000 children in foster homes at any given time. The foster care system in the United States is a critical placement system for children in difficult family situations. Unfortunately, it has a bad reputation and the potential to damage the children involved further. Foster care, a type of out-of-home placement, is a government program created to be a “temporary injunction to find safe havens for abused and neglected children” (Badreddine, 2011). This type of intervention was meant only to give the parents a chance to bring themselves into better situations. In theory, this is a great system. It gives parents who may be impaired by large amounts of stress to help themselves and get their children back while the children are taken care of in a loving, well-rounded home. The reality is that after four years, only 28 percent of these children “were reunited with their family” while “29 percent were adopted” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). This statistic is very telling; the reality overshadows good intentions. Because of this factor, it is important to look more closely at some of the unintended side effects. The children that are in foster care “are sixteen times more likely to receive psychiatric diagnoses” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). Unfortunately, they are also “eight times more likely than their peers to take psychotropic medications” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). This is an alarming number and there are very few measures for helping them out. It is recommended, however, by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Welfare League of America that teens and children “in foster care are screened early and often to assess for mental health problems” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). Taking this into account, it is clear that “mental health problems are a significant issue” (Wyans, 2008) amongst foster care children.
According to childwelfare.gov (2012), there are about 400,000 children in foster homes at any given time. The foster care system in the United States is a critical placement system for children in difficult family situations. Unfortunately, it has a bad reputation and the potential to damage the children involved further. Foster care, a type of out-of-home placement, is a government program created to be a “temporary injunction to find safe havens for abused and neglected children” (Badreddine, 2011). This type of intervention was meant only to give the parents a chance to bring themselves into better situations. In theory, this is a great system. It gives parents who may be impaired by large amounts of stress to help themselves and get their children back while the children are taken care of in a loving, well-rounded home. The reality is that after four years, only 28 percent of these children “were reunited with their family” while “29 percent were adopted” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). This statistic is very telling; the reality overshadows good intentions. Because of this factor, it is important to look more closely at some of the unintended side effects. The children that are in foster care “are sixteen times more likely to receive psychiatric diagnoses” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). Unfortunately, they are also “eight times more likely than their peers to take psychotropic medications” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). This is an alarming number and there are very few measures for helping them out. It is recommended, however, by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Welfare League of America that teens and children “in foster care are screened early and often to assess for mental health problems” (Walsh and Mattingly, 2011). Taking this into account, it is clear that “mental health problems are a significant issue” (Wyans, 2008) amongst foster care children.