ABUSED CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.   Term Paper ID:25556 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Focuses on treatment & intervention. Behavioral & psychological problems, social services, public policy, family issues, socioeconomics.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Focuses on treatment & intervention. Behavioral & psychological problems, social services, public policy, family issues, socioeconomics. Paper Introduction: A significant number of children enter foster care abused. In some instances, the abuse continues after the child is placed in care. Social services and mental health professionals must be prepared to take a proactive approach to intervention and treatment for abused children in foster care. Today's families in crisis are burdened by a host of acute societal problems including poverty, drugs, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. The helping professions have an obligation to ensure the safety of children in the care system. An understanding of the needs of abused children in foster care is basic to the provision of treatment and intervention. Psychiatric disorders are prevalent among such children. A study in London of adolescents in residential units and living with foster care families found the rate of psychiatric disorders Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. As mentioned above,many biological families have multiple problems, among them substanceabuse, teenage pregnancy, AIDs, and poverty. and Jacobs, M. This intensive range of servicescontinued for six months after initial intervention, except under specialcircumstances. Social workers and mental health professionals must address their ownbiases before they can be effective advocates for abused children in fosterhomes. As mentioned above, onetrend is to place abused children in the care of relatives. Sabrina'sdeath of untreated burns and wounds was an indirect result of the failureof the social services safety net but also the result of extreme poverty.For this reason, social workers must not be intimidated by the prospect ofhelping their clients improve their financial resources: "keeping issuesof economic injustice on the agendas of child welfare professionals shouldbe considered a basic responsibility" (Cameron, 199 , p. Social workers and mental health professionals canprovide services that support and strengthen foster families to achievethis integration. Third, the expenseof programs that would provide the comprehensive, high level of servicesneeded is extremely high. The training of foster parents forwork with adolescents. These children are forced toremain in the limbo of foster care, drifting from one placement to anotheruntil they reach adulthood. Child maltreatment: Challenges in expandingour concept of helping. Thesedisorders make it difficult for a successful adoption placement to occur.The problems of some children are so severe that adoption placement is notthe appropriate alternative; a placement is required where children canreceive the intensive treatment and intervention they need: "As more andmore children enter foster care with serious learning disabilities andemotional problems . For instance, a child who has suffered years of physicalabuse might take it out on classmates by exhibiting extremely aggressivebehavior. In addition to the assignment of a family careworker, the county provides other services such as child care, emergencyrespite care, mental health therapy, medical care for parents, andchildren, housing assistance, income support, and special school programsfor emotionally disturbed children. Pine, B. (January 9, 1998). . Social workers are required to discuss all aspects of theplacement with the foster family. The goal was the reunification of the family after the child was removed.Block grant funds were subsequently made available for family preservationand support under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act. 88-1 1. (1988). (January-February 1996). 99). U. have frequentlydemonstrated an ability to prevent child abuse and neglect as well as childplacement" (Cameron, 199 , p. 285). 151-165. . In 1997, theAdoption and Safe Families Act was passed by Congress. (1989). 1-12.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1529(2). Such children continue tostruggle with deep, emotional wounds. Socialservices and mental health professionals must be prepared to take aproactive approach to intervention and treatment for abused children infoster care. Weissbourd, R. The social worker is also responsible for preparing the child forplacement within the foster family. The social worker must help the fosterfamily set goals, and establish a program of involvement between thebiological family, the foster family, and the child. Congress. An abused child generally thrivesin a foster care environment that facilitates adaptation and integrationinto the host family. (1997). Often, theeconomic situation of the relative is no better than that of the originalfamily, which leads to a reenactment of abuse for the child. A significant number of children enter foster care abused. 199). In Jane Aldgate, Anthony Maluccio, and ChristineReeves (Eds.) Adolescents in Foster Families, pp. As one critic of the socialwelfare system lamented, "How is it that the child-protective system, whichemploys thousands of workers and spends billions of dollars per year,cannot intervene more effectively?" (U.S. 161). (1989). S. In someinstances, the abuse continues after the child is placed in care. The focus is usually oncrisis intervention: "formal support programs . Child abuse and neglect is often a function of poverty: "By the199 s study after study showed connections between child abuse and lowincome--evidence that hardly facilitated a consensus on policy" (Ashby,1997, p. Group therapy has also beenfound effective in the treatment of abused youngsters: "Most writers alsoagree that group therapy needs to be combined with individual therapy,either concurrently with, or before and/or after group therapy" (Davis,1989, p. And five, the fragmented nature ofspecialized social services makes the delivery of such services difficult.Multiproblem families are often crisis-oriented and only request servicewhen problems become acute or when the situation worsens to the point thatauthorities mandate their referral to helping professionals. The authors of the studyconcluded that these adolescents could be helped with the right type oftreatment and intervention: "One of the most worrying findings was that asignificant number of adolescents were suffering from severe, potentiallytreatable psychiatric disorders which had gone undetected" (McCann et al.,1996, p. An example isnetwork therapy, in which a group of the adolescent's close family,friends, relatives, neighbors, clergy, etc. The helping strategies needed for abused children in foster care arebased on intensive programs of formal support. A well-publicized example is the case of Sabrina Green of New York City, a 9-year-old who died of untreated wounds in the home of her aunt. Improving the well-being ofabused and neglected children. Abused children often suffer from some of the same mental andemotional problems as their abusive parents. (199 ). Ongoing parental problems related tosubstance abuse and poverty lead to rejection of the child, temporaryseparation from the primary caregiver, and chaotic physical surroundings.A study by Wald, Carlsmith, and Leiderman (1988) found that foster childrenwere almost always better off in their new placements because of therelative stability of the foster care environment, improved physicalsurroundings, and the engagement of the child in family activities: "Insummary, it appears that the foster homes provided a setting with morestructure and fewer extremes" (p. Effective intervention and treatment of abused children requires acomprehensive, integrated approach. Rothery, M. This legislation,by hastening the adoption of children in foster care, places emphasis onchildren's safety rather than returning them to dangerous situations inbirth family environments. Instructor, vol 1 5, p. Second, working with suchfamilies is difficult and the progress is often slow. When the social worker encounters asituation where extreme difficulties in adjustment are present, the aid ofmental health professionals is warranted: "The psychological wounds ofmaltreatment are not likely to heal by themselves. 53).With the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, states are givenfinancial incentives to find adoptive parents for children placed in fostercare. Cameron, G. In Jane Aldgate, Anthony Maluccio, and ChristineReeves (Eds.) Adolescents in Foster Families, pp. In California,the pursuit of family preservation resulted in a significant number ofchildren being placed in dangerous family situations. (199 ). and Coleman, M. The Adoption and Safe Families Act addressedmany of the criticisms of existing federal legislation that overemphasizesfamily preservation. 18 ). British Medical Journal, vol313, p. ProtectingAbused and Neglected Children. Senate. CQ Researcher, vol 8, pp. Brodkin, A. 18). Wald, M., Carlsmith, J.M., and Leiderman, P.H. The vulnerable child. 281). . . Rothery (199 ) describesseveral factors that act as impediments to effective service tomultiproblem families. A significant number become homeless or subject to the samesubstance abuse or emotional disorder patterns that plagued theirbiological families. The social worker also must intervene in the foster familyenvironment. The number of children in foster care is the highest in 2 years.Societal factors are partly responsible for this increase, but policygoverning foster care is also to blame. Davis, I. It is not surprising then, that foster children who havebeen abused experience trouble with social relationships. Helping afoster child heal. An understanding of the needs of abused children in foster care isbasic to the provision of treatment and intervention. The range of psychiatric problems among theadolescents in the care system included conduct disorder, overanxiety,depression, and unspecified functional psychosis. Important skill building areasinclude life management, problem-solving, anger management, issues of self-esteem and identity, the maintenance of ties with the biological family orsome other social support network, and involvement with the community.Stress is placed on partnership-building between the social worker and thefoster family in preparing the adolescent for the task of young adulthood. In the foster care setting the social worker must interact with thebiological family, the foster family, and the child. Or a child who has suffered from malnutrition might gorgehimself in the school cafeteria or even steal food to take home. The ideal has been to removechildren from abusive family environments, temporarily place them in fostercare, then follow-up with adoption as soon as possible. Granted, not all families in San Mateo County's programreceived or required the same high level of service. New York: Twayne. A study in London ofadolescents in residential units and living with foster care families foundthe rate of psychiatric disorders among this group (65 percent) much higherthan the rate of psychiatric disorders among the general adolescentpopulation (15 percent). Licensed foster care is almost always preferable to the homeenvironment of children who have been abused or neglected. Fourth, many social workers believe thatmultiproblem families are untreatable. Abused children in foster care often exhibit conduct disorders evenwhen placed with stable, nurturing families. Congress, 1996, p. It is important thatthe social worker help the foster family to establish support networks,allowing for participation in this support system by the biological family. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 1529). First, the professional culture tends to look downon the severely disadvantaged as clientele. An idea that hascirculated among some states is to ease the burden of child protectiveservices agencies by assigning the more routine tasks such as nonseverecases of abuse and neglect to other institutions. Intervention with adolescents in foster familycare and their families. For this reason, the social worker should prepare acomprehensive foster parent training program geared toward helping thefoster care adolescent acquire independent living skills: "Foster parents'work with children involves physical care, emotional support, and parentingskills that help the child move on to the next stage of developmentalprogress" (Pine and Jacobs, 1989, p. The helping professions have an obligation to ensurethe safety of children in the care system. Chicago:Lyceum. 6). The issue of poverty is important because it is a damaging reality inthe lives of abused children and their families. Child protectiveservices had allowed Sabrina to be placed in the aunt's custody afterSabrina, abused by her birth mother, became orphaned. . 79). Committee on Labor and Human Resources,U.S. The prospect for most emancipated foster care adolescents isgrim. Besides being the victims of pastabuse, the typical foster child is placed in limbo, at the mercy of variousauthorities, in a state known as "foster care drift." Such children becomehardened to the system, knowing that the older they get the less theirchances of adoption into a permanent family: "Too often, children fallvictim to foster care drift, while the professionals who are responsiblefor ensuring their care vacillate between returning them to marginal homesand terminating parental rights to free them for adoption" (U.S. Case workers had investigated Sabrina's aunt three times in thepast for the neglect of her own children. In Michael Rothery and Gary Cameron (Eds.) ChildMaltreatment, pp. Moderate to high levels of contact are maintained (from 4 to15 hours per week) at durations of between 6 months to several years.Formal support programs can often bring about personal and family changeand lead to social integration of the troubled family after the resolutionof crises. The serviceneeds of multiproblem require flexibility and dedication on the part ofsocial workers. Yet, because ofthe wide variation in foster care environments, studies have not been ableto ascertain the degree of improvement. Suchchildren who exhibit antisocial behavior in school might appear wellbehaved in the foster care situation, for fear of the consequences: "Infoster care, the perception is that the parents can always call the ChildProtective Services on a moments notice and say it's time to take the childaway" (Brodkin and Coleman, 1996, p. Proactive treatment and intervention by socialservices and mental health professionals is needed to enhance growth anddevelopment for abused children in foster care. development tasks" (Davis, 1989, p. The involvement of social services professionals in the welfare ofabused children in foster care varies widely by jurisdiction. Social services professionals who treat abused adolescents are alsofaced with the prospect of helping prepare these youngsters for"emancipation." Emancipation occurs when the youngster turns eighteen andhis or her care in a foster home environment is no longer supported by thegovernment. Psychiatricdisorders are prevalent among such children. If the victim of abuse is an adolescent, mental health professionalscan employ a variety of therapeutic treatment techniques. (December 1996). Another policy direction for child protective services is placingchildren with relatives, an arrangement known as "kinship care." Althoughkinship care results in an increase in the pool of placement alternativesfor abused children and strengthens family bonds, this option is notwithout problems. For example,San Mateo County in Northern California has experimented with the provisionof an extremely high level of service. 3). Duringthe initial intervention, the family care worker has the option of movingin with the foster care family for a short period of time to ease anytransition difficulties. Standards for kinship care are not as stringent as thosefor licensed care providers, which has led to some tragic situations. Foster care reform. The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 198 required childprotection agencies to engage in "reasonable efforts" to prevent a child'sremoval from the birth family home after the child was abused or neglected. For this reason, a worthwhileintervention for social workers is to establish lines of communication withthe appropriate teaching staff at the abused foster child's school. Most clinicians hail from the middle-class and mustcome to terms with abuse as a function of social class. Endangered children. Today's families in crisis are burdened by a host of acutesocietal problems including poverty, drugs, teenage pregnancy, and sexuallytransmitted diseases. This professional is responsible for directwork with the biological family, the foster family, and the child. Theseservice providers are closely aligned with goals like prevention of abuseand strengthening of the family, outcomes which are extremely beneficialfor the abused child. Chicago:Lyceum. An abused child's acting out behavior often surfaces in the academicenvironment. 9 ). 99). Problems in the child's familyenvironment often include a history of substance abuse, mental illness, andfamily conflict. 34 (2). In reality, manyabused children in foster care have deep emotional and psychological scarsthat render them virtually unadoptable. 1 4th Congress, 2nd session. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.----------------------- 12 This strategy wouldinvolve other service providers, such as social workers and mental healthprofessionals, more closely in intervention for abused children. McCann, J., et al. placement in a group-care facility with trainedstaff offering specialized services may be more beneficial than a familyplacement" (Foster Care, 1998, p. References Ashby, L. In some respects, this finding supports the conservativetheory of the culture of poverty, in which poor people are responsible fortheir own failings. These problems includebipolar disorder, substance abuse, and fetal alcohol syndrome. At times post-traumaticreactions lie dormant until triggered, perhaps by the placement itself, orby . Effective family support programsinvolve clients with a variety of formal helpers and formal programactivities. (November 2 , 1996). Congress,1996, p. Washington: GPO. Effective intervention and treatment of abusedchildren in foster care would not only relieve some of the burden on thecare system, it might possibly save many children from being bounced amongfoster care homes, an experience that serves to exacerbate psychiatricdisorders in this group. Prevalence of psychiatricdisorders in young people in the care system. 35). Family conflict is likely to manifest between parents andbetween the child and parents. The aunt alreadysupported ten children on welfare, the majority of who had been born drug-addicted. The County assigns each foster carefamily a family care worker. The availabilityof extensive services proved to be a litmus test for the interest of thebiological family in improving the family relationship: "a parent'sreceptivity to services was a key factor in which the child was returned tothe parent" (Wald, Carlsmith, and Leiderman, 1988, p. As one critic ofthis policy lamented, "we cannot ignore the fact that at least 22% of thetime infants who are reunified with their families are subjected to newepisodes of abuse, neglect or endangerment" (U.S. 1-24. Social services professionals must direct their attentionand resources to this disadvantaged segment of the population. (1996). Congress, 1998, p. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Child protective services agenciesmust maintain open lines of communication with other professionals.Unfortunately, most professionals who come in contact with abused childrenlack the skills to be effective advocates: "Teachers, police officers,health-care providers, and other professionals need better skills inassessing neglect and abuse" (Weissbourd, 1996, p. Child maltreatment and the front-line worker.In Michael Rothery and Gary Cameron (Eds.) Child Maltreatment, pp. 277-285. The highest levelswent to the families and children with the most problems. Current policies governing foster care on the national level arebased on a significant overhaul of the foster care system. are brought together in asession to provide psychological support. . If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.