Problems In The US Adoption And Foster Care System - Research Paper Example

Problems In The US Adoption And Foster Care System Foster Care in US The bulk of kids in the U.S. stay with one or both parents, that was about 96 percent in the year 2000. However approximately 1.4 million children reside with neither a parent nor a grandparent. Foster kids constitute more than 40 percent of this category of children, while children stay with other relations or separate arrangements take care of the balance. It is obvious that in the last two decades, the foster care inhabitants have grown considerably. Since 1980 to 2000 (US DHHS, 2000) the number of children in foster care increased from 302,000 to 556,000, that is, the rate of children in foster care gone up from 4.7 for every 1,000 U.S. children in 1980 to 7.7 in 2000. It is very clear that more children are getting enrolled in the foster care system than are going out. This seems comparatively small number of children each year; however every year after year these numbers get added up. The number of cases handled in the foster care during the period of1980s and early- to mid-1990s agrees with growing public consciousness of child abuse and neglect and quite a few legislation intended to deal with it (Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, 1980). During the later period of 1990s, the foster care caseload gone up even as confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect declined. Studies indicate that the probabilities of getting into foster care and the chances of leaving care differ considerably by race. For instance, in 1999, the number of Non-Hispanic black children was more among children arriving in foster care and living in foster care. Although black children estimated for merely 15 percent of all children under age 18, they are approximately 30 percent of children getting in to the foster care, and 42 percent of children living in foster care (Wertheimer, 2002). The foster care placements for children, organizations look for the minimum restrictive and on the whole family-like surroundings that will suit the child’s special needs. For several children, family settings are set up. As on September 2005, 236,775 foster children (46 percent) resided in family foster homes with caregivers who are not related to the children and 124,153 (24 percent) lived in family foster homes with relations offering for their care (U.S. DHHS, 2006b). Yet, 94,650 children (18 percent) in foster care were cared for in organizations or group homes (U.S. DHHS, 2006b). Over and above an extra eight percent of foster children joined in trial home visits or stayed in pre-adoptive residencies waiting for adoption (U.S. DHHS, 2006b). A minute percentage of foster children, approximately one percent lived in self arranged residence as they are about to age-out of the foster care system, and approximately two percent of foster children had run away from the foster care system (U.S. DHHS, 2006b). Adoption Several adoptions occur outside the child welfare system, for example private domestic or global adoptions. Usually other adoptions take place when a child welfare organization decides that a child is improbable to go back home to their parent(s). In such cases, the organization thinks of other permanency alternatives for that child. Usually this employs searching for an adoptive family to give a permanent home. As on 2005, 114,000 children were in queue to be adopted, in the sense they had an objective of adoption or their parental rights had been ended (U.S. DHHS, 2006b). As a matter of fact this number corresponds to a considerable descend from the year 2000 as 131,000 children remained for adoptive families (U.S. DHHS, 2007). This decline is likely attributable to the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997, which put stress on states to locate enduring homes for children in time and kept precise time on organizations to end parental privileges. Soon after ASFA, the adoption rate has gone up and since the year 2000 the number of adoptions out of foster care has been constant at more or less 50,000 per year (U.S. DHHS, 2007). It is reported that one of the main obstruction is finding fascinated and capable families to adopt (Macomber, Scarcella, Zielewski, and Geen, 2004). For answering this difficulty, in current years, state and federal administrations geared up efforts to enlist adoptive families. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau developed a nationwide adoptive parent enrolment and custody promotion to adopt US children. Along with these hard works to locate adoptive parents, states as well look for foster parents, who are usually less in number in relation to the number of children requiring foster care. Foster parents too represent a vital resource of adoptive parents. In 2005 approximately 60 percent of all adoptions of kids in foster care were through their foster parents (U.S. DHHS, 2006b). The expenses of enrolment efforts to locate these adoptive and foster parents are not easy to assess. States usually pay for these payments through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. This financial support offers federal payments to states for foster care and adoption aid. There are various groups of expenditure under Title IV-E. The expenses of enrolment efforts in general fall under the IV-E categories of management and training expenditures; however these categories as well comprise various child welfare expenses, making it hard to differentiate recruitment outlays (Gates, et al. 2007). Problems of Foster Children Each and every kid in foster care has his or her own record, character, aptitude, and restrictions, similar to all children. However, study proposes that the majority of children who have familiarity with the foster care system share a number of general features. For instance, they probably will have a compromised development, in the sense; they experience extra developmental difficulties than other children as growing up. Children residing with foster parents are more probable than children living with natural parents to have behavioral and emotional difficulties, troubles in school adjustment, and poor physical or mental health conditions (Kortenkamp and Ehrle, 2002). Another problem is the higher levels of risky behaviors. As per the data available on childhood living experiences and sexual conducts, residing in either foster care or foster care offered by a relation was correlated with high-risk sexual conducts. Particularly, living in foster care was linked with an early age pregnancy and may have a number of sexual colleagues. Likewise, foster cares with a relative was also linked with an early age of first intercourse and have a number of sexual colleagues. These results must not be taken to denote that staying in foster care is inevitably damaging to children. Most of the troubles experienced by foster children started prior to their entry to the foster care system. It is noted that almost all children reaching foster care are sufferers of sexual or physical abuse, neglect, or desertion, or have a parent who is enslaved or not capable to care for them. Because of these reasons these children are probable than other children to have disturbing, behavioral, developmental, and fitness troubles as they enter foster care. Sorry to say that it is hard to measure the consequences of foster care on foster children since state of affairs are often multifaceted ( Halfon, Mendonca, et al. 1995). However, two recent evaluations using small, localized samples established that living in foster care was related with improved behavioral outcomes. Foster children in San Diego, California, aged 7 to 12 who stayed in foster care for minimum of five months and who did not reunify with their biological parents had less risky or negative behavior six years later than youth who did reunify. Further, a research of all juvenile children incoming foster care in the region of Connecticut observed that the children’s capability to meet values of behavior suitable to their age and culture improved over two successive six-month periods subsequent to placement. But, a few foster homes do not offer an atmosphere where children can be expected to get better. One of the recent reviews on the links among foster family features and the behavioral and emotional difficulties of foster children concluded that roughly 15 to 20 percent of foster families had difficulties in their home atmosphere, family performance, and parenting (Orme and Buehler, 2001). Most probably, these failures make it additionally complicated for a foster child to grow to his or her full potential. Aging out of Foster Care Although the majority children who come in to the foster care live for a predetermined period of time, quite a few continue to stay in the foster care system until they attain the age of maturity, usually 18 years. A number of these young persons had spent years in foster care; others were separated from their homes as they were in their middle or late adolescence. In the year 1999, approximately 56,593 children attained the age of 16 and older left the foster care system. Out of these were 18,554 foster children who aged out of the system, attaining the age of 18 became lawfully independent. The identical cultural and ethnic differences that are obvious in the foster care inhabitants altogether are evident in the residents of those youth who age out of foster care. In excess of 35 percent of youths aging out of foster care in 1999 were black, although black children estimated merely 15 percent of the total children under age 18. On the other hand, non-Hispanic white children were comparatively less, estimating for 45 percent of children aging out of foster care while 64 percent of total children under age 18. (NDACAN, 2001) Also race and ethnicity, geography appears to have some comportment on the inhabitants of youth aging out of foster care. Obviously, children likely to age out of foster care in future are not spread equally among the states. Huge variations as well subsist in the rate youth age out of foster care, with 19 states having rates of less than one youth in this category for every 1,000 youth attained the age of 16 to 18 and three states - California, Massachusetts, and Minnesota and the District of Columbia - having rates more than 3 for every 1,000 youth at the same age array. Numerous aspects can cause for some youth are still in foster care as they approach the maturity. One of the reasons is the age of entry to the foster care. The children who are at maximum risk of aging out of foster care are those coming in as teenagers. Another reason is that living arrangements that the elderly foster children are considerably less probable than other foster children to live in a foster family. In the year 1999, 47 percent of foster children above the age of 14 years resided in foster or pre-adoptive homes, compared in excess of 90 percent of younger children. Among the leftover, 18 percent stayed in group homes; 22 percent resided in organizations; approximately 3 percent were in organized independent living, in the sense, living on their own, however under the direction of a community worker; 5 percent were absconders; and 5 percent had vacation at the home of their parent or parents in preparation for going back to live at home. Yet another cause is that chances for adoption. Among those in foster care as on date September 30, 1999, 127,000 children were in waiting list to be adopted and only 36,000 children were in fact adopted from foster care in 1999. Therefore, approximately 28 percent of children who were eligible were adopted over the course of the year. Because of the odds of waiting, children being adopted declined as they aged. As per the eligibility children ages 1 to 5 accounted for 35 percent for adoption although 46 percent of real adoptions. Children ages 11 to 15 estimated for 22 percent of the adoption-eligible children however just 14 percent of real adoptions, and those ages 16 to 18 estimated for 4 percent of the adoption-eligible children but merely 2 percent of genuine adoptions. As the ‘aged out’ depart from foster care, all the accessible proof indicates that they come across a set of difficulties that creates locating a place in matured culture is a huge challenge. For instance, out comes from the nationally represented research of youth came out from foster care ever undertaken illustrate that of those who aged out of foster care in 1988: 1. 38 percent were psychologically troubled; 2. 50 percent were drugs addicts; and 3. 25 percent were a challenge to the legal system of the nation. According to the same research, deprived educational and job training as well harm these youths’ prospects of fitting to useful adults. The out come of the research established that merely 48 percent had high school education. And also found that after two to four years they came out from the foster care system, only 38 percent had employed and only48 percent had held a full-time profession (Wertheimer, 2002). The foster care system is generally uncared, and to the level they think concerning it the majority Americans believe they are doing a satisfactory work. However there’s as well considerable concern about the system and full assistance for convalescing it, even at major outlay. State foster care systems make available provisional protection for approximately half a million children who came out from their homes because of inadequate care. According to the ABC News/Time magazine poll, in general, 53 percent declare that the system runs well although a meager eight percent say it runs extremely well. And almost half, 47 percent believe that their state foster care system is not working to make out vulnerable children. Merely a quarter of Americans pronounce they give a great deal interest to foster care problems. Reform An essential reform of employing additional caseworkers gets an awesome support from three-quarters of Americans, favoring for more child welfare workforce in order to lessen their caseloads from the existing average of 30 to a suggested 20, even by doing so expends tens of millions of dollars. Another suggestion made even more admired are financial inducements, as well as tax breaks, to families who adopt aged out children from the foster care. 83 percent of Americans back that approach, once more counting sizable majorities across political and ideological fronts (ABC News, 2006). Children who enter in the foster care system carry with them huge problems borne of disregard, ill-treatment, and rejection and parents who have been harmful to the health and happiness of their children. These problems don’t disappear as soon as they leave the foster system. They take it with them even as those departing foster care are no longer kids, though they are young adults. Supporting these young persons to conquer their disturbed conditions remains a serious collective concern. Further research based knowledge can offer priceless assistance for policy makers and practitioners in their activities (Wertheimer, 2002). Work Cited ABC News, (2006). Broad Support for Reform in U.S. Foster Care System ABC News/Time Poll: Foster Care 07 April 2009. < http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/1011a1FosterCare.pdf > Cook, R. (1991). A national evaluation of Title IV-E foster care independent living programs for youth: Phase 2 final report. Rockville, MD: Westat. Gates, G. J., et al (2007). Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States The Williams Institute UCLA School of Law and Urban Institute Washington, DC. 07 April 2009 < http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/FinalAdoptionReport.pdf > Halfon, N., Mendonca, A., et al. (1995). Health status of children in foster care: The experience of the Center for the Vulnerable Child. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 149, 386-392 Kortenkamp, K., & Ehrle, J. (2002). The well-being of children involved with the child welfare system: A national overview (Series B, No. B-43). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Macomber, J.E., C. Scarcella, E. Zielewski, and R. Geen. (2004). Foster Care Adoption in the United States: A State by State Analysis of Barriers & Promising Approaches. Produced for the National Adoption Day Coalition. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute. NDACAN, (2001) Child Trends analysis of 1999 AFCARS data, National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis System (AFCARS) 1999, Public use data files Orme, J. G., & Buehler, C. (2001). Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of foster children: A narrative review. Family Relations, 50, 3-22. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006b). Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children’s Bureau. The AFCARS Report. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Concept and History of Permanence in U.S. Child Welfare, Child Welfare Information Gateway. March 2007. < http://www.childwelfare.gov/permanency/overview/history.cfm > US. DHHS, (2000) U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means. (2000). Green Book 2000. Washington, DC, The AFCARS report, No. 7: Interim FY2000 estimates. Wertheimer, R. (2002). Youth who “Age Out” of Foster Care: Troubled Lives, Troubling Prospects Child Trends, Research Briefs, Publication #2002-59. 07 April 2009 Read More