Adoption
Adoption has changed many lives for the better, including my own. By being adopted, it has allowed me to experience what it is like to live in a world of endless possibilities. It has taught me to be open to different cultures and how to adapt to a new society. Adoption is not just taking legal responsibility of a child; it’s a lifelong journey that guarantees the betterment of the next generation.
Adoption prevents children from being in the foster care system. The foster care system is seriously broken and children can major consequences in the future. Many children are moved from one place to another, never knowing when they are going to be placed in another home. According to Children’s Rights, in 2014, more than 22,000 children aged out of foster care without permanent homes. This increases the likelihood of children to experience homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration as adults. Most of the time, children placed in foster care have experienced a terrifying childhood and abandoned by the people who were supposed to care for them. As a result, children will not have any form of stability because they are being moved from one home to another in just a few weeks. Stability is necessary for child development because they need to create physical and emotional bonds. Children who experience disruptions in the first
With international adoption, it is truly saving a child from a life of hardship. International adoption brings new cultures into the country, which allows the child open to different cultures and create bonds with others who are different from them. This could potentially eliminate discrimination against other ethnicities and cultures, which transforms the society into one that accepts all people. Also, this gives the adopted child exposure to different cultures and aspects of life. As a result, they will learn to assimilate into society and to accept the norms of the
This paper will contain research done about foster care, including a brief history and progressing along to the system today. This research interested me because it is a professional career option after graduation. I found both positives and negatives about the foster care system that children and foster parents go through on a daily basis. As the paper progresses I will be explaining these positives and negatives in more detail. Throughout the paper I will be referencing different scholarly sources that explain foster care in different ways. Overall, this paper will show different aspects that the general public may never know about foster care.
There is nearly 400,000 children in out-of-home care in the United States right now (Children’s Right). Just about every day children are being shipped in and out of foster homes and group homes. Most people want the best for children in foster care and decide to take care of them until their parents can possibly recover. The foster care system can have both a negative or positive effect on children, foster parents, and biological parents because of the gaps in the system. Foster cannot not be avoided but the some aspects of the foster care system can be avoided if the missing gaps were filled.
Despite attempts in the foster care system agencies under the guidelines of the “Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997” (ASFA) to locate suitable homes and families for foster children, many remain in foster care. “Too often, Child Welfare policy and the agencies responsible for it – offices that respond to child abuse and neglect, oversee foster care placements, and seek to reunite children with their parents to find adoptive families- are out of sight and out of mind except for fleeting moments of tragedy, such as a child’s death”.
What is adoption? “Adoption establishes a legally recognized, lifelong relationship between a parent and child. The adoptive parent becomes legally and morally responsible for the child's safety, education, health care, value development, development of life skills, as well as the day-to-day care of that child.(Society, 2014)” Adoption is not only maintaining a child, but it is maintaining the responsibility to love and take care of a human being.
One of the biggest misconceptions that we have in our country is that foster care is a great thing; well, it’s not. There are so many flaws in our foster care system to even consider it a good idea. With constant reports of abuse, depression, lack of stability, to even the terrible after effects of the foster care system, like homelessness and incarceration; the foster care system hurts more than it helps. Our foster care system is bad for America, but most of all, our children.
“About two-thirds of children admitted to public care have experienced abuse and neglect, and many have potentially been exposed to domestic violence, parental mental illness and substance abuse” (Dregan and Gulliford). These children are being placed into foster care so that they can get away from home abuse, not so they can move closer towards it. The foster children’s varied outcomes of what their adult lives are is because of the different experiences they grew up with in their foster homes. The one-third of those other foster children usually has a better outcome in adult life than the other two-thirds, which is a big problem considering the high percentage of children being abused in their foster homes. Although, the foster care system has most definitely allowed children to experience the positive home atmosphere that they need there is still an existed kind of abusive system in the foster care program that is unofficial but seems to be very popular. Foster care focuses on helping children in need of a temporary stable environment; however, foster care can have negative impacts to the children and the people around them concerning the foster child going through the transition, the parents of the foster child, a new sibling relationship, and problems that arrive later influencing the foster child long-term.
As of 2014, there were over 415,000 children in the foster care system. Foster care is the raising and supervision of children in a private home, group home, or institution, by individuals engaged and paid by a social service agency (Legal Dictionary, 2016). Care givers can be of kin relationship to the child, or may not know the child at all. Group homes are run by a social worker and can house multiple children at a time. These homes are usually regulated by the state and/or government. Children of all ages go through many emotions when their lives revolve in foster care. This paper will discuss the emotions children deal with regarding separation from birth family, the effects of abuse, and the possibility of having to transition out of
Since the child is being adopted, it lowers the rate of abortions since they are offered a second option. That saves the judgement that person would have faced. And after the baby is born it gives them a chance to change their mind. As I stated before, about 20,000 children have to stay in the foster care system until they are 18 years of age. According to ABC news, some of these children can actually end up homeless at some point or in prison. In this case, this motivates the children as they are approaching adulthood, so they are more likely to try to get a job, and in some cases they will take the lower paying jobs that no one wants to work. But then again it can keep the higher paying jobs open for other people. This helps keep the businesses open. If the child does end up being homeless, this creates an unsafe feeling. This unsafe feeling can lead to people not wanting to live in a certain area, making realtors lose some business. With the homeless rate rising, this can cause the homeless shelters to be more packed and cost more money to provide for more people. The homelessness can also lead to the rise of crime rates, knowing the fact that some children can end up in
To many outsiders, the foster care system may appear to be a safe haven for those children that are abused or abandoned by their birth family. This is correct, but the system with which it is based, has many flaws. A background check is mandatory for all foster parents, but a test to see if a child 's temperament matches that caregiver 's parenting style, is not. Now, this is seen as a minor issue, but there is not enough evidence to support this. Plus, there are many other, much worse reasons, why the system is not perfect. Altogether, the foster care system and a multitude of its rules are flawed and may actually be negatively affecting foster children.
According to the International Foster Care Organization “Foster care is a way of providing a family life for children who cannot live with their own parents.”(2004) Foster care is supposed to provide temporary care while parents get help dealing with problems, or to help children or young people through a difficult period in their lives. Children will return home once their parents are able to provide a safe enviorment for them. However if parent are unable to resolve the issues that cause their child in foster care their children may stay in long-term foster care, some may be adopted, and others will move on to live independently. (IFCO, 2004) Foster care has been a problem for many years and although there have been many attempts to improve it; it there still seems to be negatively impacting
Adoption is such a great thing, and provides many children, with a family they have always wanted. There are local adoptions, domestic adoptions within families, and international adoptions. Even though adoption is a wonderful thing, there can be a negative side as well. There is always a risk of the children not bonding with the adoptive parents. These children, unfortunately, are at a higher risk for mental health disorders, and also, they are at risk for abandonment issues. There are community programs that aim to help adoptive parents, and the children.
Or what about a situation where a child you closely know is in need of a loving family? Maybe you were adopted, or your life has been deeply touched by adoption. Wouldn 't you want to benefit others lives in the same way? Now of course there are numerous hardships and dangers of adoption as well. The process of adoption can take anywhere from quite a few months to several years. You must connect with adoption agencies, complete home studies, submit important documents, and fill out possibly endless amounts of paperwork. The financial implications can also be quite large for the different required services to become an adoptive family. Also, when adopting, you don 't always know what you are getting yourself into. What health or behavioral issues will my new child have? Will they be strong and healthy? Or was their birth mother irresponsible during pregnancy causing developmental issues? All these aspects from how to adopt, why to adopt, and hardships of adoption will factor into ones decision to adopt and pursuing that decision, or
The parent(s), of adopted kids, feel generally more secured of their role when part of a closed adoption, because the kids have no contact with birth parents. Though that is an advantage for the parent(s), the child(ren), however, could feel rejected or unwanted by their birth parent. This shows that there are disadvantages that balance the advantages out. The feeling of being unwanted and rejected can cause a disadvantage between the child(ren) and the adoptive parent(s). It could put a strain between the two.
Can you imagine being familyless? My best friend has benefitted from adoption, along with many others, I only mentioned a few stories. I stand for adoption because I’ve faced it on a personal level. Take adoption to a personal level for yourself. Think of how you would feel if you were in a bad situation in life and could not care for a child, but you found out you were expecting.
One specialist talked about why someone would choose to adopt by saying “often times couples choose to look into adoption for a variety of reasons.” One reason may or may not be because a couple are not able to have a baby together and want to love and care for a child. Sometimes couples already have children of their own, but still want to adopt another child because they love children so much (Luther Online). Another specialist once emphasized that most adoptions are made because couples want to either start a family or expand a family. Although some adoptions take place because a couple may want to get a child out of a particular lifestyle and give him or her better opportunities in life (Goldstein 36).