4 Foster Care

Introduction

On any given day, foster care accounts for about 424,000 children in the United States (Children’s Rights, n.d.). Children may suffer badly from a broken child welfare system. Many people do not understand the amount of stress put on a child who has no family, moves constantly, and is abused by a system designed to protect them. Although many states claim they are always looking for permanent homes for kids, this is not always a reality. Some children can spend up to one and a half years waiting for adoption after entering foster care. Even though most children in foster care live in a family-type setting, 10 percent of them (42,400 children) live in institutions or group homes (Children’s Rights, n.d.). These children lack the personal structure to count on in tough times. Children’s Rights claims that in 2019, “more than 20,000 young people aged out of foster care without permanent families” (Children’s Rights, n.d.). Additional research shows that those who leave foster care without having a family have a higher chance than the general youth to go through homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration as adults (Children’s Rights, n.d.)

Financial Stress

The overwhelming problems with foster care can cost much of taxpayers’ money. The foster system creates mental health issues in children that need medications to help. When foster kids are prescribed more psychotropic medications than the average kid, it costs the government millions of dollars. Legislation has been introduced in order to address the problem. Policies vary by state for the use of psychotropic drugs for foster care youth. A study done by Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) reported that “…in 2010, 26 states had written policies regarding psychotropic medication use, while 13 states were developing such a policy, nine states had no policy regarding the use of psychotropic medications, and two states did not participate in the study” (National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL], 2019). California issued new guidelines with treatment options to help foster care children with past traumatic experiences. It also pushed for FDA-approved medications for children and a restriction on the number of medicines prescribed to children in foster care. California performed the most recent legislative enactments in 2015 that provide group foster homes use of psychotropic medications under restricted conditions (NCSL, 2019).

Foster Care to Prison Pipeline

With parents not providing support for young children, foster care institutions have developed into a common pathway to the juvenile justice system. It is estimated that 90% of foster children will come into contact with the juvenile justice system before leaving child welfare (Yamat, 2020). Moreover, youth that are placed in group homes are two and a half times more likely to be involved in the justice system (Yamat, 2020). The foster care system provides varying levels of supervision and neglect for children all while claiming to help them. There is weak support, making children turn to groups that engage in dangerous activities to feel like they belong. The Justice Policy Journal writes, “[Dangerous activities] can include selling and using drugs, running away from their foster home, being truant from school, and other miscellaneous illegal activities” (Yamat, 2020). These activities would put a foster kid at a much higher risk of jail time than the general child in the population.

Mental Health

One of the biggest problems with foster care is the lack of focus on children’s mental health. According to an American Public Health Association article, there are “…disproportionately high percentages of children who have a history of foster care, compared with those who do not, exhibit mental health problems” (Zlotnick et al., 2012). Some factors that foster care youth experience that put them at risk include trauma, frequently changing situations, broken family relationships, and inadequate access to mental health services. One Northwest Foster Care Alumni study found that around half of foster care alumni had mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and PTSD (Bruskas, 2008). Many of the foster care youth deal with neglect, which explains the high amount of mental health issues. Among the kids with the worst symptoms, “only 4% received mental health care and 84% did not have any mental health services provided” (Bruskas, 2008). By not allowing for these children to receive care, psychiatric problems will most likely not improve and get worse.

Resources

Dealing with mental health issues can help to attack the source of problems children deal with. As discussed earlier, these problems can ruin the future of children. Although people with mental health issues may feel alone, there are so many resources that provide essential help. The first two resources provided below are for children and anybody in need of mental health help. The last resource gives tips and information to caregivers. Caregivers are important to the health of the child because they can supply a much-needed positive light to the children’s lives.

• SAHMSA’s National Helpline
  • For those experiencing mental health issues, the SAHMSA’s National Helpline is a well-known, helpful resource. In 2020, the national helpline for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) received 833,598 calls (SAHMSA, 2022). The helpline can be a source of help from someone who cares, and it is confidential and free to use.
• Child Welfare Information Gateway
  • Child Welfare Information Gateway provides a series of toll-free crisis hotline numbers for children to use. It helps people with issues from mental health to abuse victims to human trafficking. The website also lists the people that the hotline helps, so that the visitor of the website can accurately pick a hotline.
• National Association of School Psychologists
  • Caregivers can also help with children’s mental health issues. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) gives eleven tips for adults to utilize with the children. Although preventing mental health issues is not entirely impossible, the tips can help create an environment where the kids will be protected from the risks. This also can be used alternatively to the drugs being prescribed. A more detailed overview of the eleven tips can be found on the website.

References

Bruskas D. (2008). Children in foster care: a vulnerable population at risk. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing: Official Publication of the Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurses, Inc, 21(2), 70–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6171.2008.00134.x

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2012). Toll-Free crisis hotline numbers. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/tollfree/

Children’s Rights. (n.d.). Foster care. https://www.childrensrights.org/newsroom/fact-sheets/foster-care/

National Association of School Psychologists. (2017). Supporting children’s mental health: Tips for parents and educators. https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/mental-health/prevention-and-wellness-promotion/supporting-childrens-mental-health-tips-for-parents-and-educators

National Conference of State Legislatures. (2019, November 01). Mental health and foster care. https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/mental-health-and-foster-care.aspx

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022, February 08). SAHMSA’s national helpline. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline

Yamat, A. (2020). The foster-care-to-prison pipeline. Justice Policy Journal, 17(2), 1-11. http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/the_foster_care_to_prison_pipeline.pdf

Zlotnick, C., Tam, T. W., & Soman, L. A. (2012). Life course outcomes on mental and physical health: The impact of foster care on adulthood. Am J Public Health, 102(3), 534-540. 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300285