Juvenile Delinquency- Foster Care System Research Paper PDF

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Foster Care System 1

The Foster Care System According to the National Adoption Center, many Americans are aware of the foster care system and its’ shortcomings. Most of the stories spread about this system are the negative aspects of corrupt foster parents and miserable children that are bounced from home to home with no hope of adoption (2019). While foster care does have plenty of weaknesses, this program has changed many children’s lives for the better. Each of us has formed our own opinions of foster care but very few of us will experience this ourselves. This paper will discuss the history of the foster care system, how it can help victimized children, and whether or not this program is successful. The first developed and regulated foster care system began under the English Poor Law in 1562. This practice was brought to the United States as English immigrants began to colonize Northern America. Eventually, the number of orphan children sleeping on the streets became concerning and the free foster home movement was created. Charles Loring Brace created a plan to advertise homes in the South and West that would be willing to take children in and provide free food and lodging. This created the orphan train, a program used to transport children from their hometowns to these free homes in the South and West. Many of these homes became a negative experience, as some children essentially became indentured servants. However, the National Foster Parent Association claims that this “... daring and creative action became the foundation for the foster care movement as it exists today” (2019). The foster care system began to grow and by the 1900s agencies began to supervise foster parents, keep records, consider individual children’s needs, and the federal government began conducting state inspections

Foster Care System 2 (2019). Along with this, a group of professionals was added to aid the child and families in creating the best situation for all involved parties. These aspects created the modern foster care system we know today. This system seems to be the perfect solution for orphaned, neglected or abused children, however, there are serval other factors and theories playing into the success of this program. The differential association theory states that criminal behavior is learned from peers. These original interactions come from a child’s family and shape their behavior as they learn. Donald R Creesy, assistant professor of sociology at the University of California states, “The differential association theory, is considered by most sociologists as the best formulation to date of a general theory of criminality” (Creesy, 1954). I believe this also explains why our foster care system can be successful. If a child is born into a home where the parents are criminally active, abusing substances, or participating in domestic abuse, this child will learn to assume these actions are acceptable. Because of this, children are more likely to act out in similar ways. In order to prevent this, children should be removed from these homes and raised in a more positive environment. This is where the foster care system comes in; it is the responsibility of this program to identify these environments and remove the children where possible. According to the differential association theory, changing the people a child interacts with should limit youth victimization and crime. Based solely on this theory, the foster care system should be the perfect program to help the well-being of children and society. While this juvenile criminal theory should explain why the foster care system is successful, this may not be the case. Many believe the shortcomings of foster care outweigh the positive experiences children may have. Lenette Azzi-Lessing, associate professor of sociology

Foster Care System 3 at Wheelock College, claims there are several hidden harms of the foster care system. Many children are placed in foster care as a short-term solution. This is rarely the case as many live in numerous foster homes and ultimately age-out of the system without being adopted or placed back with their birth families. Instead of learning positive norms from new homes, foster children are never able to learn attachment and social development. They suffer in a state of normlessness that creates anxiety and behavioral problems. As children are transferred between homes, they become less likely to be adopted or return to their birth homes. This leads to a child aging-out of the system with no real connection or positive interaction. Azzi-Lessing claims these adults released from the system are more likely to be teen parents, unemployed, spend their lives in poverty, and be targeted for sex-trafficking (2016). These negative experiences can totally shape a child’s life and some believe that it is better to leave children in their negative birth homes than to subject them to this anxious-state of normlessness. These negative opinions can seem overwhelmingly popular but, contradictory data shows the foster care system has become increasingly successful. In an evaluation done by Child Trends and endorsed by the Children’s Bureau, trends show that fewer children are aging-out of the system and more are exiting the system successfully. Stating, “Almost one quarter (24 percent) of all children who exited foster care in 2017 were in foster care for less than six months, and another 19 percent spent six to 11 months in care. Thirty percent spent one to two years in care, 24 percent spent two to four years in care, and 4 percent spent more than five years in care” (2018). Children are spending less time in foster care and are more likely to exit and create positive associations. While the foster care system is not perfect, this recent data shows that the

Foster Care System 4 success of the system may outweigh the struggles children can experience as they progress through the program.

Foster Care System 5 References Azzi-Lessing, Lenette. 2016. “The Hidden Harms of the US Foster-care System.” The Conversation, January 22. Child Trends. 2018. “Foster Care”. Retrieved Oct. 16, 2019. (https://www.childtrends.org/ indicators/foster-care). Creesy, Donald R. 1954. “The Differential Association Theory and Compulsive Crimes.” The Journal of Criminal Law, 45(1):2-5. National Adoption Center. 2019. “What is Foster Care?.” Retrieved Oct. 15, 2019. (http://www.adopt.org/what-foster-care). National Foster Parent Association. 2019. “History of Foster Care in the United States.” Retrieved Oct. 16, 2019. (https://nfpaonline.org/page-1105741)....