The Importance of Children in Foster Care Homes - Research Proposal Example

Importance of Children in Foster Care Homes One of the peasants quickly rushes forward to scoop up the child and bring it to safety. A few minutes later, they are startled to see yet another child and once again work quickly to ensure its safety. After a passage of time, a third child is seen approaching them in a basket floating down the stream. This time, however, one of the peasants jumps up and begins to run away from the shore. His friend, horrified, rushes after him shouting, “Where are you going? Aren’t you interested in saving this child?” The departing peasant looks back and replies as he rushes away. “I can’t sit idly by and watch the destruction of one child at a time. I am going upstream to find the root cause, what’s at the heart of this unfortunate situation.” Introduction Children in foster care homes have been separated from their parents and families over a period of time. There are various factors that contribute for children being in foster care homes. Some of the factors are poverty, violence and abuse in the home, the death of parents, armed conflict or natural disasters. Separated children are not a homogenous group. Separation comes in many different forms. Children in foster care homes can be categorized according to the factors that may have caused their separation. Some examples are: children who have been orphaned, especially those orphaned by HIV and AIDS; children who have been separated for the purposes of exploitation; child refugees who have been separated from family by armed conflict; and children with a disability placed in institutional care. There needs to be more focus on children living in foster care homes by providing safe, permanent, nurturing families within the childs community. Children being separated from their parents are an important issue because it can affect a childs survival and development. Very young children are especially vulnerable, with 0-3 years old facing increased risk of mortality if they lose their mothers (UNICEF et al 2006). The sexual abuse and early sexual activity associated with some forms of separation, such as early marriage or trafficking into prostitution, exposes children to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and girls to the risks associated with early pregnancy (Pinheiro 2006). Children living on the streets and children who have been in conflict with the law have been noted to engage in risky activities which expose them to HIV infections. Orphans are also more at risk of STIs than non-Orphans. Violence, abuse and neglect suffered by separated children can threaten physical health and chances of survival. The abuse, neglect, exploitation and loss often associated with separation can also cause major mental health problems. Researchers suggest high levels of anxiety and depression amongst orphans with 12% stating that they sometimes wished they were dead (UNICEF et al 2006). It has also been reported that a staggering 1 in 10 young people living in the foster care homes commit suicide (Pinheiro 2006). There is widespread evidence that children who are denied a loving, continuous bond with a parental figure suffer major developmental setbacks. Background and significance There are over 500,000 children in the United States that have currently resided in some form of foster care. Placements in foster care have dramatically increased over the past 10 years. Despite the increasing numbers, children in foster care and foster parents are mostly invisible in the communities and often lack many needed supports and resources. Majority of children that are separated from their parents are unable to receive an adequate education. Children in foster care homes lag behind their peers on every measure of educational opportunity. The numbers include a 23 percent dropout rate compared with 9 percent of the general student population, half in special education compared with 12 percent, and 52 percent reading below grade level compared with 38 percent. In addition, only 3 percent of foster children obtain a Bachelors degree. Because of the lack of educational attainment, the children in foster homes are really struggling with the ability to earn a living wage when they become older. There needs to be permanence for these children that come best through adoption, but short of adoption, that means stability. Children in foster care homes are also associated with high levels of stigma and discrimination. Children who have been orphaned by AIDS suffer discrimination as they are not the biological children of the care givers (UNICEF et al 2006). Those born to HIV+ mothers face stigma as a result of either their own or their parents HIV status, and children in institution may feel rejected by their families and discriminated against by the wider society because they live in childrens homes (Tolfree 2003). A child in the United States is reported abused or neglected every 11 seconds. And the figures in Maryland are even more disturbing. A child in Maryland is abused or neglected every 4 minutes. Nearly 100 times a day a child in Baltimore will be removed from his or her home and placed in foster care. The total population of children residing in foster care system in Maryland as of September 30, 2008 is 11, 521 and 7000 of the total reside in Baltimore City. The demographic of children living in foster care facility in Maryland are as follow: Males is about 53% and females are 47 percent; African American is 75%, Caucasian is 20%, Hispanic is 4% and Asian is 1%. Maryland receives $30,000 a year from federal and state government for each child placed in the foster care system. The money goes towards paying for stipends of foster parents but also wages, benefits and overhead costs for child-welfare workers and executives. For special needs children, Maryland receives up to $150,000 annually. Review of Selected Literature According to Hepburn, Williamson and Wolfram, separated children can be of three kinds; separated children (2000), unaccompanied minors, and orphans. Out of them, ‘separated children’ refers to those children who are separated from their both parents or from their legal customary caregiver, but are accompanied by another adult. On the other hand, unaccompanied minors are children who have been separated from all legal or customary caregivers. They are not cared for by an adult. Orphans are children with no living parents. In the US, there is another category; that is ‘unaccompanied alien children’ who illegally reached US either intentionally or through deception. According to reports, the number of unaccompanied alien children who seek asylum in the US is around 4000 (Howe, p. 84); and the most suffering separated children are the ‘unaccompanied alien children’ who are detained for illegal immigration. So, firstly, it is necessary to look into the works looking into their problems. Issues of unaccompanied alien children The work by Piwowarczyk looks into the issues of unaccompanied and separated children in the US. She advocates that such children should not be subjected to immigration detention. According to Piwowarczyk (2006), the transfer of the care of detained immigrant children from the Department of Justice to the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is a positive turn of events. In fact, the Amnesty report of 2003 points out a number of issues associated with the detention of illegal immigrant children. According to Amnesty International view, some of them are detention of children for administrative reasons, long periods in holding-cells or juvenile homes, co-mingling with juvenile offenders, and excessive discipline; also, the detained children face a lack of access to education, recreation, exercise, and legal representation. In another study among detained children in Finland, it was found that more than half of the detained children between 6 and 14 years of age had psychiatric symptoms. A majority of the children were found ‘argumentative, sad, impulsive, stubborn, fighting and lying’ (Piwowarczyk, 2006). Here, it becomes evident that there is a conflict between the nation’s responsibility to protect such children and the nation’s immigration policies. In addition, as Hepburn (p 11) points out, there is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that ensures for the children who are separated from their parents the right to a name, right to legal identity, right to birth registration, right to physical and legal protection, right to provisions for basic subsistence, right to care and assistance, and right to participate in decisions about their future. Similarly, Horgan (2011) looks into the conflict between the existing immigration policies and child protection policies in the US. There are various provisions in the US that can be utilized by the illegal immigrant children for protection. For example, there is the Refugee Act of 1980 that ensures that children who face persecution can seek asylum. However, the major set back with this US policy on illegal immigrant children is that though the US has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it has not ratified the same. There are various provisions in the US that protect the interest of the separated children. For example, in 2002, the Child Status Protection Act was enacted to avoid bureaucratic delays resulting in ageing and consequent ineligibility in children (Horgan, 2011). In addition to all these, there is the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status that ensures that the neglected, abandoned, and abused children are given refuge in the US. In addition, as there is the allegation that the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) that is responsible for the care of separated children act like a jailer, the Homeland Security Act transferred the care of children to the Office of the Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Adding to this, there is the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. Howe (2010) looks into how separated children are treated in the US. It is pointed out that in the US, a system for separated children usually comes through the Refuges Act of 1980. To support this, there is the 1998 INS Guidelines for Children’s Asylum Claims. Another significant measure is the Homeland Security Act of 2002 that gives procedural guidelines for processing the asylum claims by separated children. The Act specifically points out that ‘the interests’ of the child must be taken into account when making decisions related to the child’s care and custody (Howe, 2010). In addition, the Act gives birth to the Department of Homeland Security which absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Soon, it transferred the responsibility of care and custody of unaccompanied alien children from the INS to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a part of the US Department of Health & Human Service (HHS). Presently, the ORR is responsible for the care of separated alien children and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services is responsible for the initial adjudication of asylum claims (Howe, p. 82). However, Howe (2010) points out that though the Homeland Security Act calls for considering the ‘interests’ of the child, it does not seem a reasonable reflection of the call for ‘the best interests’ of the child by the Convention of the Rights of the Child. As Bhabha and Susan Schmidt (2006) points out, there is little coordination and cooperation in handling the care of separated children as the Homeland Security Act resulted in the involvement of nearly four major government departments and 15 federal government agencies within these departments. However, undoubtedly, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 2008 significantly changed the scenario by altering the existing procedure of defensive process. In the new system, the child initially meets with an asylum officer instead of an immigration judge. Another serious issue is the use of totally different terms to address the children seeking asylum. For example, the INA uses three terms; ‘child’, ‘minor’, and ‘juvenile’. Evidently, the meaning of these all terms varies significantly (Howe, 2010). However, the Homeland Security Act tried to solve this issue by using the term ‘unaccompanied alien children’. However, again, the issues arises that all alien children are not unaccompanied. This makes it difficult to gather proper information about the alien children who are separated. However, admittedly, the present policies dealing with separated alien children are not consistent with the international conventions on refugee children and require further refinement. As studies prove, the legal procedures adopted in the case of detained alien children cause a number of psychological issues in them. As Piwowarczyk (2006) observes, some of these issues are the fears about indeterminate detention and future, the experience of detention and torture, isolation, language difficulties, separation from family and friends, cultural isolation, bereavement, shame, loss of status, survivor guilt, and shock and anger at the treatment. Evidently, these issues are not in ‘the best interests’ of the children. Having identified the issues associated with the ‘unaccompanied alien children’, it is necessary to see the issues associated with the lives of separated children in foster care facilities and ways to improve them. Impact of institutional care on children Tolfree (2003) looks into the impact of institutional form of care for children on the developmental aspects of children. The first point put forwards by Tofree is that such institutions often tend to separate children. This leads to a powerful sense of discrimination and stigma. In fact, Article 2 of the CRS points out that, children should not be discriminated on the basis of anything. Thus, this segregation often results in poor self-esteem in the discriminated children. Yet another point is that when all the international conventions calls for the ‘best interests’ of the child, the placement of children in institution is usually done according to the interest of the family, not of the child. Thus, it violates Article 3 of the CRC. Here, again, the child feels that the family has rejected him or her, leading to the feeling of abandonment. The next issue is that even when the parents are alive, it is commonly seen that the communication between the child and parents deteriorate over time. This evidently violates the child’s right to maintain contact with parents, the right to preserve identity, ad that of family reunification. Another point according to Dupree and Stephen (2002) is that many institutions give more importance to institutional needs than to the needs of the individual children. This, in fact, results in a total lack of individual and personal care. The rights of children to grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love and care as envisaged under Article 12 of the CRC are violated here. The next major issue is that many institutions do not provide any purposeful activities to children that give them some enjoyment. Thus, the children are devoid of their rights to have recreation under Article 31 of the CRC. Yet another important issue is that the children who are brought up in institutions fail to understand their role as adults in their own culture. Thus, the system fails to make children fully prepared to live as an individual in the society byte time they leave the place. Another important issue is child abuse in these institutions. Many studies report that child abuse is a serious issue in many such institutions, and only a few of such incidents come to the notice of the outside world (“Foster Care vs. Family Preservation”). This is in blatant violation of the Article 19 of the CRC that ensures protection from all forms of abuse, and Article 34 that gives protection from sexual abuse. Another significant issue is that most institutions and residential institutions do not encourage independence of children. So, the children who leave such institutions often reach prisons and psychiatric institutions as they are not mentally prepared to face the outside world. There are various issues associated with the foster care facilities as identified by Dupree and Foster. The first one is the problem of developing secure attachments in foster care. In addition, it is pointed out that identifying developmental problems in children becomes a difficult task in foster facilities. Another significant finding is that abuse of all kinds; sexual, physical, neglect, and mixed maltreatment will result in delayed motor development, lower physical competence and low cognitive maturity (Dupree & Stephen, 2002). Supporting this view, there is the revelation that the level of education in foster care children is significantly below average (‘what we know about the effects of foster care’). It is pointed out by Dicker and Gordon (2004) that when children move to the foster care places, their medical records should also move with them. This will ensure that the health and developmental conditions get proper medical attention, and risks that require further assessment are properly met. From the discussion, it becomes evident that there is the need to totally alter the attitude towards and treatment of separated children. Analysis and conclusion In the case of unaccompanied alien children, a look into the international conventions proves that they have the right to seek better treatment. Presently, it is the duty of ORR, though a number of other agencies too are involve in the matter. In order to reduce the prolonged stay of children in detention, it is necessary to reduce the number of agencies involved. In this case, the unaccompanied children should be solely under the control of ORR, and it should be solely responsible for all activities ranging from adjudication and rehabilitation. The ORR, in turn, should work in collaboration with the National Foster Care Program to find suitable foster care for the children. The second point is the selection of foster care families. Care should be taken to ensure that the foster families have experience with children or have cared for children before. In addition, the foster family should have the ability to speak the child’s language. Thirdly, the family should exhibit the ability to retain good relationship with the child and to provide it a continuation of the lost family. Also, the family should be resorting to foster care not for material or financial benefits, but for true willingness to care for children. The third point is the assistance and training the government should ensure to foster care families and institutions. The important areas where training is required are basic childcare, feeding, hygiene, play activities and education. In addition, the family should be given assistance and advice as necessary for the proper development and education of the child. Finally, the foster family should be trained to keep proper records of the health, education and growth of the child. The next point is to ensure regular physical and mental health services to children in all foster care facilities. There should be a team of medical experts to visit all the facilities in regular intervals. This will considerably reduce the possibility of abuse and maltreatment. In total, it becomes evident that the issues faced by the separated children in the US are the result of improper policies and poor implementation. Developing an approach taking the physical and psychological needs of such children into consideration will help reduce the problems they face at present. References Dupree, D & Stephen, S. A. (2002). Foster care and early child development: Implications for child welfare policy and practice. CAPD: Center for Assessment and Policy Development. 1-14. Retrieved from http://www.capd.org/pubfiles/pub-2002-00-01.pdf Dicker, S & Gordon, E. (January 2004). Ensuring the healthy development of infants in foster care: A guide for judges, advocates and child welfare professionals. Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, Zero to Three: Policy Center. Retrieved from http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ip/justiceforchildren/PDF/Infant%20Booklet.pdf Foster care vs. family preservation: The track record on safety and well-being. (January 2011). National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. Retrieved from http://www.nccpr.org/reports/01SAFETY.pdf Hepburn, A., Williamson, J & Wolfram, T. (2000). “Separated children: Care & protection of children in emergencies”. Save the Children Federation Inc.1-83. Retrieved from http://www.ecdgroup.com/docs/lib_005230015.pdf Howe, S. M. (2010). “Separated children fleeing persecution: A comparative study of asylum policies in the U.K. and the U.S”. DigitalCommons@Connecticut College: Government Honors Papers. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=govhp&sei-redir=1#search=%22Separated%20Children%20Fleeing%20Persecution%3A%20Comparative%20Study%20Asylum%20Policies%20UK%20US%2C%201-1-2010%2C%20Digital%20Commons%20%40%20Connecticut%20College%2C%20p.%2084%22 Horgan, A. (2011). Separated children and human trafficking: Issues of protection in the United States. Critical Social Thinking: Policy and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.ucc.ie/en/appsoc/resconf/cstj/CSTJournalVolume32011/AoifeHorgan/Aoife-Horgan.pdf Piwowarczyk , L. A. (2006). “Responsibility to unaccompanied and separated children in the United States: a helping hand”. Public Interest Law Journal, 15. 266-296. Schmidt, S. (2008). Seeking asylum alone: U.S. report. President and Fellows of Harvard College. 1-15. Retrieved from http://library.law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/SAA%20Report%20Recommendations%20US.pdf Tolfree, D. (2003). Community based care for separated children. Save the Children: Sweden. 1-16. Retrieved from http://southasiachildrensfund.org/resources/Community%20Based%20Care%20for%20Children.pdf Troutman, B., Ryan, S & Cardi, M. (n.d). The effects of foster care placement on young children’s mental health. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Retrieved from http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/icmh/archives/reports/Foster_care.pdf United States of America: Unaccompanied children in immigration detection. (2003). Amnesty International Publications. Retrieved from http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/detentionwatchnetwork.org/files/unaccompanied%20children%20in%20immigration%20detention.pdf What we know about the effects of foster care. Assesting the Long-Term Effects of Foster Care: A Research Synthesis. 25. Retrieved from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc142g.pdf Read More