Emotional Issues In Foster Care Research Paper

Behavior and Emotional Issues Associated with kids In Foster Care

Renee Ferdinand

83134 CCJ 4940

201508

This paper will explore the behavior issues and emotional issues associated with children in foster care and the foster care system, as well as touching base on the mental health problems these children can possibly deal with. This paper will explain the different issues kids deal with, explaining how being in the foster care system affects the kids and their behavior. The examples used in this paper will be based off research, as well as a true life story, written by Ashley Rhodes-Courter, who was in the foster care system. There will also be examples based off of experience interning in the foster care system.

Children entering

the foster care system are usually scared, confused and upset that they are being torn from their families. They usually don’t understand why this has happened and are mad at the system for them being placed in foster care. Children in foster care tend to have a bad reputation because they are always portrayed to be bad, out of control children that nobody wants to deal with. In reality, the reason why many of these kids are out of control is because of the situations they dealt with before being placed in the foster care system, as well as the emotions that stem from being put into the foster care system. These children are usually taken from their parents or guardian, can be separated from siblings and sent somewhere to live with people they don’t even know. They are expected to trust their new foster parents, respect them, and act like they would if they were in their own home. However, for many kids that are placed within the foster care system, this major change in their lives alters their emotions and behaviors to the point where they are completely different children.
According to Princeton Education, up to 80 percent of children that are placed in the foster care system will experience some type of behavior or emotional issues.

(Chipungu & Goodley, 2004) Chipungu and Goodley also stated that these issues shown by children in foster care come from their experiences prior to being placed in foster care, as well as from their actual foster care experience. Children are forced to deal with the separation from their parents and siblings, and must now adjust to a new life. In a 3 month time period of being in the foster care system, children have been shown to have symptoms of depression, aggression and withdrawal, as well as sleeping problems, and failure to thrive. (Chipungu & Goodley, 2004) Due to children’s experiences prior to entering the foster care system, many of them have development issues, including mental development. According to Bass, Shields, and Behrman “children in foster care have more physical and mental health problems than children growing up in other settings.” (2004) Dubois-Comtois et al. stated that the number of foster care placements, as well as the type of placement, a child has had also contributed to the child’s behavior and emotional problems.

(2015)
In the book, Three Little Words, by Ashley Rhodes-Courter, Ashley, and her younger brother Luke were both taken into the system at a very young age.

Luke was too young to remember, but Ashley vividly remembers being taken from her mother and separated from her brother all within the same day. Throughout the book, both kids were placed in multiple foster homes. Ashley only wanted to be reunited with her mother so she controlled herself and usually did what she was told in order to stay out of trouble. Luke was the total opposite. One of the many placements Ashley and Luke were in were with the Moss family. Mr. and Mrs. Moss were verbally and physically abusive to all the children living under their care. Ashley remembers there were times kids were forced to drink hot sauce. Ashley also remembers that Mrs. Moss would hold Luke down in the bathtub full of water, almost drowning him. Ashley did everything she possibly could to avoid these punishments, but Luke was constantly causing problems to where he kept receiving more and more of the same punishments, or even worse. Ashley is always worried about Luke because he can not seem to get himself out of trouble, and worries that he will not be adopted if he doesn’t learn how to act. In the sequel to the memoir, Three More Words, Ashley is now an adult in college. Luke was adopted by a single man in the military. Luke calls Ashley one day saying that he wanted to leave because his adoptive father had sold his pet horse. Ashley

agrees to pick Luke up and to let him stay with her and her boyfriend. While there, Luke tries to bring his friends over, which Ashley denies; Ashley catches Luke smoking cigarettes and more. When Luke moves out and Ashley is cleaning out the room, Ashley finds alcohol bottles and drugs and is upset that Luke would put her life as well as her boyfriend’s life in danger like that. Later in the book, although Luke is now an adult, Luke has drug problems, is constantly in and out of jail, in unhealthy relationships that support his drug problems and more. Luke seemed to be the stereotypical foster child that people think about; bad attitude, always in trouble. It could be said that the multiple placements that Luke went through contributed to his behavior, however, considering Ashley went through just about the same amount of placements how does this explain her behavior?
Many of the children that are in the foster care system had behavior problems before being placed into the system. The major change of going from home to an unknown place just pushes their behavior even further. These children tend to be physically violent towards other children and adults, they are extremely defiant and rebellious. Children, especially younger children, need stability to help control their emotions and behavior. Any change in this stability can change the child’s actions drastically. Even something as simple as having a substitute teacher in school can cause a child to act out or have a different emotional reaction. Younger children who are in the foster care system usually don’t understand why they have to be there and are angry or upset with their foster parents, social workers, and other adults that are now responsible for their care. Foster parents, social workers, and teachers have all been the victims of physical attacks by these children. Also, children who have been exposed to violence prior to entering the foster care system, whether this violence is towards them or towards another member of the family, tend to exhibit violence once in the foster care system as well. These children are violent towards any and everybody for reasons that are unknown to anyone besides that child.