Children families and communities Out-_ of-_ Home Care of Children (Foster Care) - Essay Example

The primary aim of people who run the Foster Care homes is to provide the child with a permanent home with caring parents, irrespective of reunification or adoption. Children who are initiated into Foster Care homes include children who are neglected and abused and basically do not experience a strong and safe support system in their lives. Such children not only have serious physical and mental problems, but also possess a very negative attitude towards life. There is a constant threat to a child’s natural development which definitely takes its toll if help is not rendered in time.

It is not only important to take a child to Foster Care during the early stages when the growth of the brain is most active, but it is also vital that the child has a positive experience and a good healing process while in Foster Care. In this context, Welfare systems play a vital role in the life of a child as it helps in healing the damage brought about by abuse and neglect, as well as it plays a very important role in the child’s development by providing comprehensive services. Current Effectiveness of Child Welfare Systems Internationally, for the past decade, there has been great improvement, in the policies and practices involving child protection.

According to Lonne, Parton, Thomson, & Harries, (2009) Welfare systems are receiving ‘greater recognition of the importance of preventive, family – focused support’. The change brought about is reflected in ongoing efforts to broaden the concept of protection practices through child- centered orientation in welfare. Programs such as early interventions for both the child as well as family needs have been introduced. Early intervention policies and programs help to reduce the vulnerability of the child as well as the family and also help to cut costs before further damage is done.

In addition, Secondary support programs such as Healthy Families (US) Sure Start (UK) and Stronger Families and Communities Strategy and Brighter Futures (Australia) are implemented to create social awareness about the importance of early interventions. Ongoing research is also being carried out in the field of child protection, by way of development of a range of assessment tools that serve to reduce the known risk factors which in turn help to strengthen and support the protective factors involving the child as well as the family.

According to Stern (2002) such factors serve to ‘achieve desirable preventive effects for children and families.’ Cashmore (2009) strongly feels that though important decisions are taken by professionals who give their expert advice on the problems of children in care, yet family and community play a vital role in addressing these concerns and finding solutions to these problems. Family group conferences are very much helpful because it empowers the family who otherwise has to rely on professionals to sort out their problems.

Moreover, according to Cashmore (2009) family group conferencing helps to build trust between the child, family and community and reduce the stressful situation to the minimum. Judy Cashmore (2009) believes that such family group conferences are extremely important as they help to harness trust and faith between the child, family and community and hence build stronger relationships among themselves that in turn