Foster Home Effects

Sometimes the people that are supposed to love you will hurt you. Imagine your loved ones abusing or abandoning you for no given reason.Wouldn’t you feel lonely, and worthless to this world? If a situation gets so bad or out of hand it can force a child into foster care. Foster care is a system by which a certified, stand-in "parent(s)" cares for minor children or young people who have been removed from their birth parents or other custodial adults by state authority. People need to know that foster care youth need love and care just like other children. Foster homes can’t provide all the essential needs for a child that are required in order to grow up. The negative effects of foster homes on children include medical health problems, lack

of education, difficulties of finding permanent homes, and mental health issues. These problems need to be improved so that children can benefit from foster homes and have a better successful life.
The prevalence of medical health problems among children in foster care is high. Children in a foster home are more likely to have medical health problems because of previous experiences or parental backgrounds. Children with health problems might not be able to control their health issue because they could have been born with it or develop it over time. ¨One study of children in foster care aged 2 to 14 years identified nearly 50% with clinically significant health problems” (Scheid). Half the amount of children in foster care are not healthy at a very young age. It is important for young children to be healthy to their full potential. Unhealthy kids can have major setbacks that influences their development as they grow. Most of the time children have medical problems because of the actions that their parents perform in their early life. For example, “Early neglect, alcohol or drug use during pregnancy, or premature birth can all cause developmental delays, including delay in talking or achieving physical milestones such as crawling or walking” (Robin). A child’s birth parent affects the health and safety of that child. The child is more vulnerable to health problems if their birth mother isn’t safe enough which is unfortunate because the child can’t control or prevent their medical health problem. The child will not be as advanced as other kids their age because of developmental and support issues. Every child deserves an equal opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle if negative health problems can be prevented from the beginning. Even if a child has health problems it can still be difficult to help or cure the child. There are various factors as into why it would be difficult to help children with medical problems, “Pediatricians may encounter challenges while providing care for a child in foster care. These challenges include incomplete or unavailable health information, like information about immunizations, medications, allergies, chronic illnesses, hospitalizations, surgeries…” (Health Care Issues). These challenges limit a child’s access to medical help from a doctor to cure their own health problem. This is a major problem since medical health problems are high and doctors will not be able to help diagnose or treat their problem. Information that is unavailable should not restrict a child from receiving the help they need. These challenges can not be confirmed if a doctor doesn’t diagnose the child with what is wrong with them. All children should have access to medical help especially if they are placed in a foster home. Healthy children are more likely to be happy, successful, and content because of the benefits from foster care homes that they were given.
Foster kids lack skill with academics, and other responsibilities. Foster kids don’t receive the equal amount of education just like other kids outside of foster care. They should be set at higher standards and given equal education opportunities. Workers at foster homes are supposed to support and provide education to the kids. Unfortunately, “Foster kids often lack a basic social support system that is supposed to prepare them with a successful educational experience” (Lips). Therefore, children are not developing life skills and preparing for the challenging transition into adulthood because they are not socially involved with other people in the outside world. Children might not know how to understand, react, or socialize with the public since they are not educated socially. It’s important for foster kids to not be socially awkward but to be comfortable with anything that might approach them. The children need a support system that will be effective and make them prosper. Without the right level of education for foster kids, the less likely foster kids are prepared for big responsibilities. Their education purposes should not only educate the kids academically but also to prep them for real-world responsibilities when they are all grown up. Foster kids lack the knowledge of knowing what to do when they are old enough to live on their own. An article stated that, “Many age out of the foster care system unprepared to handle real-world responsibilities such as employment and self-residency needs. Their transiency often leads to gaps in learning, thus limiting their academic preparation for college or job responsibilities in today’s technology-based, skilled society” (Neiheiser). Once they are old enough to leave a foster care they’re not fully prepared for the real world because foster care didn’t teach them the necessities they need for adulthood. Children in foster care don’t have as much knowledge academically than other kids do. This is a problem because in order to be successful in life it’s important to have the most reasonable knowledge as possible. In order for foster kids to go to college they need to have ways to not only pay for it but to also be accepted into a school after they have applied. There might be problems with getting into colleges because foster kids might lack the education needed to be in college, and not have high enough test scores to be accepted into college. Also they have to know what to do when applying for a job, they need to know how to make resumes, and be successful with interviews. It’s important for kids to get a diploma so that their chances of getting a job will be higher. It’s unfortunate that “Approximately 21,000 students leave the foster care system upon reaching age 18, with only half at most securing a diploma” (Neiheiser). Not even half of the children receive diplomas which limits their success in going to college or finding a job. The children are less likely to be stable in their future and have successful careers. Most jobs will require a diploma, and if they don’t earn their diploma through foster care then how are kids supposed to benefit and be successful in life? It’s important for the kids to be set up for success and not failure. It’s not like they’re total failures but it would be helpful if there wasn’t lack of education so that their chances of getting employed are higher.
Establishing a permanent home for foster kids has it’s challenges and difficulties. Children can be in a foster home until the child is at least 18 but less than 21 years of age if he or she meet the requirements of the young adult voluntary foster care act. If a child isn’t adopted within the many years of being in the foster home, then it can dramatically affect them in many ways. Nothing is secured or permanent when a child is being placed in a foster home. It’s difficult because “Children are not provided with any form of stability and they are often moved from one foster home to another in a short period of time. They may be taken from the care of one foster parent and placed in the home of another within a few weeks” (All you need…). Children that don’t have a stable home will get the feeling that no one wants them and that they’re worthless. They will feel stressed, lonely and miserable with not having a stable home. It places a burden on their shoulder that they wish could be overcome. A leading factor as into why parents are less likely to adopt is that “The amount of paperwork needed to apply to be a foster parent is overwhelming and makes the paperwork the IRS requires look like a joke. In addition to the paperwork you are required to take a course consisting of 30 hours over a 10 week period” (Heinsler). Adults wanting to adopt foster kids might think that all the paperwork is stressful and too much work. This limits children from finding a new home because adopting parents might give up in the process of adoption. All the paperwork required might not be worth the hassle to adopt. “While states should work rapidly to find safe permanent homes for kids, on any given day children available for adoption have spent an average of nearly two years waiting to be adopted since their parental rights were terminated. (Foster Care). This evaluation shows that it’s difficult to find a home for foster kids because not that many people want to adopt kids, or maybe their house doesn’t qualify as safe enough for a kid. It takes a lot of time for a child to be placed in a permanent home because adoption isn’t at a high stake. Foster homes can promote more about their foster kids so that parents will at least consider adopting. If foster homes can find a quicker way to give foster kids new parents and a new home, then foster homes will be more favorable and effective.
Kids in foster care are more likely to develop mental health issues over time.

“Don’t give me up when you cannot handle my mental health/behavioral problem(s)”; “I am afraid of everything and everyone” (Hill). These are thoughts and feelings from children in foster homes who wish that people would understand them and help them out. Instead they become mentally ill because of everything they go through. Mental illness can come from experiences with abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Children will start to become mentally ill because “They have often been betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect and care for them” (All you need...). Being left behind by the people that are supposed to support you can mentally affect a child because everyone needs love and to know that somebody cares about them. It is important that foster homes have a fun, and safe place for kids to feel loved and important. They need a support system that allows them to feel safe, secured, and protected. For children to be neglected can dramatically traumatize them mentally. A recent study showed that,“42% had at least one mental health disorder; of these, nearly one-third had 2 disorders and one-fifth had 3 disorders”(Scheid). These mental issues can range from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or even dementia. Children also might gain negative behaviors like anger and aggression because of how stressed or depressed the kid might be. It is crucial that foster homes have a secured, safe, and healthy environment for foster kids so that they don't become mentally ill. Foster homes need a safe atmosphere and shelter so that foster kids will thrive and

prosper
As you can see, foster homes aren’t always beneficial for kids. It may seem like the best thing for them when they have no other choice but really foster homes should make improvements so that children will flourish in their future. Even though they have challenges like dealing with a kid that has medical health problems, not giving the right amount of education, finding a new home and parents, and taking care of children with mental health issues, their priorities should be to ease the lives of these kids. Foster homes aren’t perfect, they have their differences. Just the little things can impact a kid and make a difference in their life.

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