Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Foster home adoption process
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
FINDING MY FOREVER HOME Two words, foster home. When I was nine years old I was put into a foster home because of what happened in my life. Quote: “life may not go where you want it to go but you will always end up where you are meant to be. As a young girl I had my life planned out, the friends I wanted to make, and the school I wanted to go to. That all changed when I turned nine years old. As a nine year old I never expected to end up in a foster home. As a child not know what a foster home is, I knew it was going to be terrifying. When I was nine I went through two foster homes in just THREE MONTHS! I switched foster homes the first time because I did not feel comfortable in the home I was in, nor the neighborhood. I would cry a lot and, I was really stressed out for those three months. …show more content…
I switched foster homes two weeks after the first one.
The second foster home was 5 times better than the first one I was in. I was not used to living in a foster home so I would blame my life on the foster parent. One memory I remember is watching Honey Boo Boo, and just laughing as we were watching it. One of the nice things about that home is that I was never got bored. The weird thing was that I was the only child but yet I was never bored. Two thing that kept me occupied was a computer, and play station three. Since I never grew up with electronics I had to occupy myself by playing outside. The only electronic I got removed from that same home
again. I was never quite in a foster home when I got removed. Instead I got sent to my friends house. I lived at her house for two weeks and than left. I went to go live with my my foster mom. before I lived with my foster mom I lived with her foster grandma. I only lived with her for a day then I left. After I left her house I went to live with my foster mom and her family. When I got into that home I was scared because I knew I was going to be living there for a while. I actually knew my foster parents since I was two so I know I would feel comfortable there. The cool thing about my foster family is that if I was feeling down they would be there to cheer me up. One thing I never thought would happen was getting adopted by them. I noticed I had been there for a while and I knew nothing was going to change so I decided to have them adopt me. They also agreed that they would adopt me. That’s how I found my forever home.
Unfortunately, “foster children who have moved multiple times often develop detachment disorder: they become unable to attach to others as a defense mechanism” (Babbel). Due to this, children are taught to keep to themselves. They fear that if they open up to people, then they will become more distraught when the time comes for them leave. Consequently, their outside persona becomes a shell, while their true emotions become trapped inside. As a result, they have trouble forming strong relationships later on in life. This can especially prove to be troublesome in marriages, where these ex-foster children act upon their training to build walls against others. Thus, this psychological damage can haunt foster care children for the rest of their
When Cris Bean was writing the book, he mentioned a couple of times the fact of how traumatizing it can be for kids who end up in foster care. When a kid is placed into the foster care system, it can be very stressful and disorientating the first few days. Probably the hardest part is wrapping your head around the fact that now a child is in the foster care system and why are they there. Many kids that are older probably did not have to follow many rules since the biological parents where perhaps on drugs, alcohol, or not even being there at all. So, living in a new house with rules can be a very difficult thing to follow, or even if the child has reasoning for right and wrong.
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.
In the observation there were 14 other foster parents in attendance, 10 foster parents were non-kinship and 4 were kinship foster parents including myself. In observing we discussed the transition of children coming into foster care for the first time vs. long term instability of placement. A lot of the children are confused they are unaware of the wrong their parents have done to be removed. They become scared or fearful because the home they are placed in can be a stranger. Not all children go to kinship homes. Some children come into foster care with insecure detachment or the inability to eat, sleep or be normal functioning children. In learning that bonding and attachment of a mother/ caregiver and child during the first five years of the child’s life is important. That a child who is abused or neglected by parent or caregiver will form Insecure disorganized disoriented which is confusion about approaching or avoiding mother/caregiver, upon reunion acts confused and dazed (Site This). The foster parents in the training did not say much but when spoken about daily stressor of a child towards acceptance we had the same idea of trying to make the foster home as comfortable as possible. That is when we all was inform no matter how welcoming the home is or the pleasant smile at the door a child will still need time to adjust to the situation he/she is placed in.
Addressing the needs of children in foster care has been an issue that has tried to be addressed in many ways. In 2001, approximately 300,000 children entered the foster care system, with the average time spent in placement equaling 33 months (Bass Shields, & Behrman, n.d.). Statistically, the longer a child is in the foster care system, the greater number of placements they will have, and instability increases each year (Bass Shields, & Behrman, n.d). I recently read a novel by a girl who was placed into the system at age two, and by age 12 she had already experienced 14 different placements (Rhodes-Courter, 2007). Stories such as this one are not uncommon in the foster care system, especially if the child is a member of a sibling group or
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
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
Above and beyond the stress of being removed from their families, foster children often face the stress of having multiple foster homes placements. Frequent foster home placements may also lead to multiple school placements. According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), in 2013, 17.6% of Wisconsin children in foster care had 4 or more placements (AFCARS Report, 2013). School and home transfers require foster children to adjust to new families, teachers, classmates, and school work (Finkelstein, 2003). Stress of court appearances, separation from siblings and parents, and the stigma of being in foster care may also cause stress (Castrechini,
In conclusion I have had a difficult life and have had to adapt to new people and enviroments multiple times. Although this was at times difficult I still turned out ok and love my new family. All in all the lead up to my adoption, my adoption and after the fact wasn’t ll that
At age 15 I was already in my 20th foster home. My whole life all I knew was suffering and anguish. At a young age, I was mistreated by my mother’s boyfriend and I have also witnessed the beatings of the women in my family. There were no end to the torment I had witnessed .But I am so grateful that I had found a foster home where all I knew was affection. I loved being with this foster family. I had my very first birthday at age 15 with my foster family. Before that it was just a day of abuse and neglect. There was no cake on those days. There was no birthday songs just loud piercing sounds of a metal rod cracking my spine. I was with my foster family for three and a half years. The mother was more affectionate than the mother figure I grew up with.
At a young age I was put into foster care. This was something that I would have to say has both its ups and downs. I saw good days and there are other times that I would not see the day at all. I was subjected to abuse, neglect, and even love while in foster care. The reason I was but here is because my mother had too many children and was very abusive. My mother, Rose Brown, was hit by a car at a young age causing her to have several different mental health issues. By the time I was seven my mother had nineteen children. Because of her lack of ability to take care of her children my mother had to put us all in foster care.