The Foster System

The Foster System

A Research Essay about The Foster System and Abuse

Rebecca DSouza

Kihei Charter High School

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Abstract

This research essay will be about will be about foster care, flaws in the foster system, and

child abuse. The foster care system was created to protect children from neglect and abuse at the

hands of parents and other family members, yet all too often it becomes an equally cruel form of

neglect and abuse by the state. Kids are being placed in unfit homes due to the lack of

supervision from social workers and lack of background checks on the foster parents. The best

way to protect foster children from abuse I think, would be to include the state government.

These positive solutions to reduce foster care abuse can and need to be implemented by states to

end abuse. I believe that no child should grow up feeling scared or alone, therefore it is important

to inform people what is happening and how we can prevent it.

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Over 400,000 American children are in foster care at this very moment. They have been

taken away when their families are in a crisis and cant take care of them. Children are placed in

foster care when a child protective services worker and a court have determined that it is not safe

for the child to remain at home, because of a risk of maltreatment, including neglect and physical

or sexual/child abuse. I was adopted when I was 6 years old therefore I am very passionate about

obtaining more knowledge, along with helping kids that were in my situation. The top causes on

why children enter foster care are: physical abuse, sextual abuse,neglect, medical neglect,

incarceration, abandonment, death or voluntary placement. I believe that foster care system is

flawed and that children are being placed in unfit homes. Homes that are supposed to be a safer

and better place than what they were taken away from.

Foster care is a temporary living arrangement for abused, neglected, and dependent

children who need a safe place to live when their parents or another relative cannot take care of

them. Foster care is intended to protect children from neglect and abuse at the hands of parents

and other family members, yet all too often it becomes an equally cruel form of neglect and

abuse by the state. Sometimes, foster care placements are made that are just as abusive, if not

more so, than the home from which the child was removed. According to Erica Simon who wrote

an article on The Horror Stories These Former Foster Care Kids Have. Sound Too Bad To Be

True. But They're Not. "People need to know that foster care youth need love and care just like

other children." said a former foster care child named Marcellia. Marcellia was born to a

drug-addicted mother who was unable to properly care for her and her siblings. They were

placed in foster care when she was 10 years old, and Marcellia remained in the system until she

aged out at 19. During those nine years, she was separated from her biological brothers several
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times, neglected, and placed in homes with, as she states so simply, "no love" (Erica Williams

Simon, 2014).

According to The Children's Aid Society, in the mid 19th century, over 30,000

homeless or neglected children lived in New York City streets. Charles Loring Brace, the

founder of The Children's Aid Society, believed that there was a way to change the futures of

these children. By removing youngsters from city streets and placing them in farm families, he

thought they would have a chance of escaping a lifetime of suffering. He proposed that these

children be sent by train to live and work on farms in the midwest and west. The resulting

Orphan Train Movement lasted from 1853 to the early 1900s, and transported more than 120,000

children to new lives (childrensaidsociety). Today, children in foster care can be placed in

several different types of foster homes. One type of home is the single foster family of one or

more parents who cares for up to six foster children with their own biological or adopted

children. Another type is the group home. Currently, they are better regulated and monitored

than in the past due to abuse. Lastly, Kinship care is the full-time care of foster children by

relatives, godparents, stepparents, or any adult who has a similar bond with a child.

Being aware of the Foster System is important because many children are taken away

from their families and put into foster care end up having behavioral and emotional problems

later on in life. This is because they weren't raised the right way, they feel alone or as if

everything is there fault, and/or they feel unwanted. They are being taken away from their

families and placed in abusive homes. In 2001 a four year old named Rilya Wilson went missing

from her foster home. Her foster parents did not report her as missing for the next 15 months.

Sadly, Floridas Welfare Agency did not notice she was missing. Rilya's body was never found
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but her foster parents were convicted of murder. Rylia Wilsons is a tragic case that reflects

failure to provide and ensure safety to children being placed in foster care. According to the

investigation, Rylias foster parent had a criminal record and a mental illness (Meaghan

Good,2004). Due to the lack of supervision from her social worker and lack of background check

on the foster parents, Rylia was place in an unsafe environment that resulted in her death. Foster

homes are designed for children who have been abused or neglected. They are designed to

protect children and put them in safer homes not to endanger them or put them in harm's way. I

believe that no child should grow up feeling scared or alone.

To address this issue Children's Rights is a way to spread awareness on children's

rights. When children are removed from abusive and neglectful families, they should be kept

from further harm. And while foster care can be a safe for some, it can be heartbreaking for

others. Too many kids live in dangerous situations, are shuffled between multiple homes or taken

away from siblings. Thats why Childrens Rights steps in. Childrens Rights uses the law to

hold governments accountable and defend thousands of kids when foster care systems fail

(childrensrights).

Foster care abuse can be reduced by implementing programs that can help children

through the state which would provide safer homes. The best way to protect foster children from

abuse I think, would be to include the state government. They can fund resources into supportive

community programs and institutions to take care of children's wellbeing and help prevent abuse.

These positive solutions to reduce foster care abuse can and need to be implemented by states to

end the unnecessary harm to children by foster parents. Foster care abuse is a problem now and

also leads to potential problems in the future.

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Stories of foster care abuse experienced by kids like Marcellia and Rilya Wilson and

many others happen every day. These children have already experienced abandonment, abuse, or

neglect by their biological parents when the state places them into the foster care system.

Allowing these children to continue to be abandoned, abused, and neglected in the foster care

system defeats the purpose for which foster care was created; to protect children from neglect

and abuse at the hands of parents and other family members, to provide children a safe home

where their basic needs can be met until they can be placed back in their home with their parents

or eventually be adopted. One solution is not enough to extinguish foster care abuse. However,

several solutions can and need to be implemented by states to end the unnecessary harm to

children by foster parents.

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References

Erica Williams Simon. (2014). The Horror Stories These Former Foster Care Kids Have Sound

Too Bad To Be True. But They're Not.

Reterived from

http://www.upworthy.com/the-horror-stories-these-former-foster-care-kids-have-sound-to

o-bad-to-be-true-but-theyre-not

Author na. (2017). Childrens Rights

What we do Article Retrieved from

http://www.childrensrights.org/our-mission/our-work/

Meaghan Good. (2004). The Charley Project: Rilya Wilson

Rilya Shenise Wilson Retrieved from

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wilson_rilya.html

Magali Sanchez-Gomez. (2012). CHILD ABUSE IN FOSTER CARE: RISK FACTORS

Retrieved from

http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1106&context=socssp