Kristiina Tam English 2010 Position Paper 10,29,13

The Lost Children

It is safe to say that we create our own demons. We live in a society where the majority are intolerant of unpopular truths, if society doesn't like something it is swept under the rug. Drug addicts and vagrants are incarcerated, the mentally ill are institutionalized, and instead of investing and making sure that they have the right people fostering the children stuck in the middle we throw money into the vicious cycle to repeat its self again. In a report done by ABC news titled Foster Care In America, taxpayers are spending $22 billion per year, thats $40,000 a child on foster care programs. This is despite spending a decade to reform the nations foster care program that is Overcrowded and rife with problems.(ABC News). The USs foster care system is failing because of the inability to face these hard truths. What does it mean when the people who are called forth to protect and show these children how it is to live in a safe and loving home are doing more harm than good? Through the failure of the system to protect these children it is creating criminals, drug abusers, young adults that only have a 15% rate of finishing college, homeless and some of these children are growing up to be abusive parents them selves. "In the name of protecting children, we have kept it a secret how we as a society deal with our most vulnerable children," said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Eric S. Maxwell to the Massachusetts Senate (Thoma). It has been reported that one-third of foster children are abused. Perhaps the most disturbing part of this statistic is that this isnt before they

Kristiina Tam English 2010 Position Paper 10,29,13 came into care but after. In a federal study of foster care wards conducted in 1991, onefourth were or had been homeless, 40% were on public assistance, half were unemployed 75% of youths in the criminal justice system in Connecticut were once in foster care (Williams). It could be argued that not every child in the system is abused nor does every neglected and abused child grow up to become undesirable and otherwise taboo members of society. John Lennon, was the founder of the greatest rock groups in recording

history: The Beatles. He was also a foster child. Famous actor James Dean, sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, Singer Cher and inventor Steve Jobs. All were in the system and not only became functioning members of society but icons. Not every one of these icons came out unscaved. Back before she became Marilyn Monroe she was named Norma Jean Baker. Her mother was institutionalized when she was just a little girl and her father wanted nothing to do with her. She was sent to an orphanage in 1935 and then later was bounced around from foster home to foster home. During this time the depression was going on and people would take on foster children just for the money just as some do now. During this period Marilyn said she was sexually molested. In one instance she accounts being raped (Doll). By the age of 18 she had tried to kill herself twice, once with gas and the other with an overdose of sleeping pills (Discovery). Even though Marilyn had fame and beauty she spent her whole life feeling like she wasn't good enough. Often she abused pain pills and Alcohol until in August 5, 1962 she was found dead in her Brentwood, CA home, the official cause of death was suicide (Discovery).

Kristiina Tam English 2010 Position Paper 10,29,13 In Roosevelt Utah, the town I was in when I was in foster care. We had to report to the head of the treatment program every month she would come to our house to check on me and make sure I was making progress. I cant remember her name but she had two foster girls of her own. One of them was named Sabrina, she was 15 years old at the time. Sometimes she stayed at our house when her foster parents went on vacations. I thought she was awkward to say the least, very quiet and kept to herself. Sometimes I would pass her in the halls of our high school. She always walked with her books held tight to her chest with her eyes to the ground. She was always in trouble, always grounded for some Behaviors she had displayed. I never thought anything of it and then summer she was gone and the boss over the whole program in our region had to resign. It was then found out that her husband had been sexually abusing Sabrina for the mast few years. Last I heard she was on her second baby living on welfare. Her life was not enriched, She wasnt taken care of, she didn't even finish school. The job of Child Protective services or the CPS is to protect the children it takes out of their homes not put them back into dangerous environments. Often I think of her and wonder what she could have become if her circumstances were different. Perhaps if the foster care system were running better and she had regular visits with her case worker she would have told someone earlier and her life could have been better.

Another issue with the foster care system is that the foster children that dont get adopted or return to their homes are kept in the system until they are 18 years old. They call this aging out. By law they are considered adults, too old for the states care but

Kristiina Tam English 2010 Position Paper 10,29,13 many are ill equip to live as adults on their own. It seems as though when they turn 18 the system discards them. They are no longer the foster systems problem but where are they supposed to go? The Charlotte Observer conducted a six month investigation into the foster care system and concluded that: "North Carolina's lack of commitment to foster care is helping create a population of throwaway children, many of whom go on to lives of substance abuse, homelessness, crime.(Thoma). The Office for National Statistics says many young adults in their mid-20s and early 30s still live at home (Alan). I am not saying that young adults who where in foster care should be kept until then but something should be done to make sure that they have the support and peace of mind of knowing they have a place to live in order to succeed in their lives.

Everywhere there are billboards and commercials of happy foster families raising happy little foster kids, all smiles and not a care in the world. From the research I have done and the things I have been witness to this couldnt be farther from the truth. As a society we cant simply ignore what is happening to the youth that are in foster care. We can no longer sweep it under the rug because they deserve to be the happy little boys and girls in the advertisements.

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Kristiina Tam English 2010 Position Paper 10,29,13

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Cited works

Alan, Travis. "More Young Adults in 20s and 30s Living with Parents than in past 20 Years." The Guardian. December 8, 2009. November 1, 2013. Web.

Discovery Health. Marilyn Monroes Mental Health. Discovery Fit and Health. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. Doll, Susan. "Marilyn Monroes Early Life" . HowStuffWorks.com. 29 August 2007 07 December 2013 "Facts on Foster Care in America." ABC News. ABC News Network, 30 May 2006. 07 October 30, 2013. Web. Thoma, Rick. "A Critical Look at Foster Care: How Widespread a Problem?" A Critical Look at Foster Care: How Widespread a Problem? December 1, 2005. October 30, 2013. web.