MODULE 1: What Is Foster Care?

Section 1: Why Are Children in Foster Care? 

1.1: Foster Care

Foster care is a temporary arrangement where adults provide and take care of children who are unable to live with their birth parents. In the United States, there are currently more than 400,00 children in foster care (according to the most recent federal data.) These children can range from newborn babies to young adults in their early twenties. Although there is no end to foster care. Children can be legally emancipated, which means released from parental care after turning 18 years old. 

How long a child stays in foster care ultimately depends on each child and their family's circumstances. 55 percent of foster children are waiting to reunite with their parents. Before returning home, the system must ensure that the child's life will be secure. If the requirements are not met, they will be placed with a close relative. Most children spend less than one year to three years on average in the foster care system before settling into permanent homes. This permanent home can be moving back with birth parents, placed with trusted relatives, or adopted into a new family. But, becoming a foster parent is not easy. It demands one's utmost dedication and commitment. Each child has unique personalities and behaviors, so parents need to be extra flexible, tolerant, and patient. 

1.2: How Do Children Get into Foster Care? 

Although not always, children often come to the attention of the child welfare system through a report of abuse, maltreatment, or neglect. Some parents may also be struggling economically, physically, mentally, and simply do not have the best conditions to provide for a child. As a result, the child welfare system, staffed by government officials, decides whether to bring or not to bring a child into foster care. 

In 2016, 143,866 children with maltreatment cases received foster care services. In order to seek custody of a child, the agency must go to court. After entering foster care, each child is checked on from time to time by caseworkers and judges. They make sure that the children are stable and adapting to their new surroundings, and have their needs met. For example, some questions that may be asked are: Are they receiving adequate education? Adequate health care? Adequate meals? More importantly, caseworkers are also responsible for finding each child a long-term family situation as soon as possible. Every child in foster care wants a home of their own! 

Section 2: What Are Foster Parents? 

2.1: The Goal of Foster Care 

The utmost goal of foster care is to ensure that children can reside in a stable environment despite living without birth parents. Attachment to at least one parental figure is essential to one's education, emotional, and social development. The relationship between a parent and their child is also a bond of trust that allows emotional regulation when stress is encountered. Children need to feel loved and validated constantly; It is a parent's job to remind them! In most situations, a child is in foster care because the current home is unsuitable for their growth or cannot provide the affection described above. Until the guardian gets back on track, a relative or adoptive family raises them instead. For children who have suffered abuse or neglect, they may not understand what a loving family feels like. Foster care tries their best to provide a sense of permanence and safety in the meantime. 

The absence of fathers is the most important cause of crime. According to Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, boys who grow up without fathers are three times as likely to go to prison as peers from intact families, and boys whose fathers do not leave until teenage years are two times as likely to go to jail. This is because males usually need someone to look up to and that someone is usually their dad. Youths with a healthy relationship with their dads are less apt to be arrested, belong to a dangerous gang, damage property, steal, or run away. Now that we've talked about fathers, the role of mothers is just as essential. A maternal figure is the basis for a child's development of conscience and moral compassion. Suppose a child's emotional attachment to their mother gets disrupted. In that case, "They will be unable to trust and stay emotionally distant from others," as Kansas State University child development expert Chuck Smith affirmed. Without a mother, the changing of caretakers may also result in the loss of attachment and antisocial behavior. Thus, foster care tries their best to provide children with long-lasting families until they reunite with birth parents. 

2.2: What Do Foster Parents Do? 

Foster parents or resource parents are relatives or nonrelative adults who care for the children while they are in the child welfare system. They provide children with a sense of permanence, and although foster parents are of no match, they are similar to a temporary replacement for birth parents. Before becoming a resource parent, individuals must undergo rigorous training to ensure safety and happiness in the house. Families are required to complete 12 hours of pre-certification training and maintain 12 hours of annual training. Some crucial aspects of the class include emergency first aid, medication, health care, food requirements, safety in the home, and how to manage challenging behaviors. Many children will have experienced trauma or abuse in their previous home, so it is the foster family's responsibility to make them feel loved and cared for even when they might be acting up. Depending on age, the state will give each foster family a monthly pay of 450-700 USD. The purpose of this allowance is for the daily living needs of the child, for example, food purchases, clothing purchases, and any other supply purchase. Please keep in mind that this money is not for profit, and foster parenting is not a job. 

Section 3: Where Do Foster Children Live?

3.1: Group Homes and Foster Homes 

A foster home is a temporary arrangement made by adults to take care of children when their parents cannot. Some children in foster care do not live with foster families and instead, live in group settings called group homes. This is where kids with unique behavioral, social, medical, or developmental concerns beyond which foster parents can handle stay. Staff members rotate in shifts to watch over the kids and guarantee that all is well; No individual visits every day. Group homes are the last possible option, and many studies show that a living area without parents has a negative impact on children. For example, research states, foster kids in group homes face worse outcomes like lower educational attainment, increased homelessness rates, and criminal justice involvement. However, that said, late teens tend to do well in group homes, as it is like living in a school dorm. 

3.2: After Leaving Foster Care 

Around half of the children in foster care end up returning to their parents or previous caregiver. The issue that brought them into the system must be addressed before moving back to the original home. Thus, most kids do not re-enter after leaving. However, more than 50,000 children each year are adopted by relatives or foster parents because they cannot return to their parents. Although the state offers the option to stay in foster care until they are 21 years of age, children may receive emancipation at age 18, where they are legally adults and free from the foster care system. 20,000 children per year depart from foster care, and without parents, they may struggle emotionally, educationally, and financially. These kids are more likely to be homeless and jobless than others who have achieved permanence. Therefore, it is essential that foster care provides a loving family for each and every one of the children who suffered from abuse, neglect, or other causes!