~KassTaylor.Photography~

Guess who set up a tumblr.?!  This girl.  Check it out at kasstaylorphotography.tumblr.com.

I'm hoping that it will be a good outlet for my photography..  Let's hope (:

~A Real Eye Opener~

        For my English Composition class this semester, I had to do an argumentative research paper for my final paper.  I wanted to do my paper on some aspect of the foster care system.  My family became a licensed foster home on March 22, 2013, and we got our first placement on June 21, 2013.

        Even though these two boys - ages four and two - are our first placement, our eyes have been opened so much.  For me, personally, I just can't believe some of the things that these boys, at such a young age, have had to go through. 

        I decided to do my argumentative research paper on biological parent accountability. I got an A on the paper, so I guess it has some good points.          

       

Biological Parent Accountability

          The foster care system is flawed.  What do I mean by that?  Well, first let’s get some basic definitions.  According to Mirriam-Webster.com, “foster care” is defined as “supervised care for orphaned, neglected, or delinquent children…”  Mirriam-Webster.com also states that “foster home” is defined as “a household in which an orphaned, neglected, or delinquent child is placed for care.”  What is “orphaned” defined as?  It’s defined as a child whose parents are deceased.  What is “neglected” defined as?  It’s defined as suffering or lack of proper care.  And last but not least, what is “delinquent” defined as?  It’s defined as a young person showing a tendency to commit crime. (Webster).  As you can see from these definitions, foster care deals with three specific categories of children.  This paper is going to focus on one particular category: those children who have been neglected.

          In an anonymous story shared online, a young girl tells of her experience through the foster care system.  Starting at the age of two years old, she was placed in 27 foster homes, but was returned to her biological parents three times before their parental rights were permanently severed. (Anonymous). Why should a child have to go through all the stress and trauma of abuse in their biological home, and be forced to move to dozens of foster homes while still so young?  I believe that there should be higher standards and more accountability for biological parents whose children have been placed in foster care.  Not only should the parents be held accountable, but there should be more support and help from organizations for the biological parents who are entrusted with their children again.  By having these standards and greater support, maybe we can stop the pattern of the revolving door for children going in and out of foster care.  It’s a chain that needs to be broken.

          The concept of foster care was started in 1853 by a gentleman named Charles Loring Brace, who founded the Children’s Aid Society. (National Foster Parent Association).  Brace believed there was a way to change the future for the 30,000 children living in the slums of New York City, so he transported them by train to farm families in the South and out West. (Children’s Aid Society).  In the 1990’s, an approach known as concurrent planning was initiated by Children’s Aid.  The concept behind concurrent planning was to “eliminate delays in attaining permanent families for children and youth in foster care.” (Child Welfare Information Gateway). This helps to work towards a child’s primary permanency goal such as reunification with their birth family, or a secondary goal such as a guardianship with a relative.  Until this primary or secondary goal is achieved, the child is placed into foster care.

          The process of becoming a licensed foster home is a lengthy one that can take three to six months.  This process consists of detailed background checks for all adults in the household, receiving references on why the family would be substantial to provide foster care, details about the home and neighborhood, etcetera; yet, when biological parents go through the steps to get their children back into their custody, their accountability standards are much lower.  Yes, biological parents meet high requirements to be privileged the ultimate goal of reunification, and some requirement are as follows: successfully pass random drug tests, uphold stable housing, maintain proper and legal employment, take assessments, and attend any kind of training or classes required.  Once the parents meet all the required standards for their specific case plan, they are reunited.  After reunification is when things can go south again.  Why?  It’s due to the fact that there is no way to support and help monitor the families once their case is closed.  When the parents can’t provide and care for the children, the kids are put back into the foster care system.  How is this healthy for the children?  It’s not.  Hence the short story that I talked about in the beginning of this paper: how many times do children have to go through the revolving door of being placed in and being taken out of this system before the court says they’ve gone through enough?

          Why aren’t biological parents – to earn their parental rights – required to be monitored just as foster families are?  I understand that some people might view this as a violation of an individual’s right to parent their own children, but if an individual is putting their children in harm’s way, then I believe there should be some form of regulation.  What kind of regulation?  A simple checks and balances system.  I believe that the court should do random home visits to check on the health and living conditions of the children.  Foster parents are required to succumb to these mandated visits, so why can’t parents – those who neglected their children in the first place – be required to have random, monthly visits as well?

Some people might view this regulation as a form of unnecessary governmental spending; but why not put money towards a healthy future for kids, instead of setting them up for failure?  By not giving these biological parents a stricter set of guidelines to earning rights to their children back, when the kids are returned there’s no one there to help the parents give their children what is in the best interest for them.  This is also when the foster care system should be taken one step further.  When the kids go back to their biological families, why aren’t organizations set up to help the parents realize what they need to provide for their children all day every day? 

According to futureofchildren.org, “a significant number of children reenter care within 10 years of being reunified.” (Wulczyn, 105).  Looking more specifically: of the children who reenter care, almost 70% reenter within a year, and 57% returned within 3 months.  More precisely, 40% of children who return to foster care do so within 90 days. (Wulczyn, 106).  Patterns show that children who are reunified typically leave foster care relatively quickly; however, after the first year of a child being in care, the likelihood of reunification is significantly smaller (Wulczyn, 106).  Why?  Is the likelihood of reunification smaller after the first year of care because the parents lose motivation?  Is it because the parents don’t work towards the ultimate goal of having their children being reunified with them?  Whatever the reason, more needs to be done about it.  One challenge is this: parents have a sense of ‘freedom’ when their children are taken away from them; and as heart-breaking as it is, a large majority of these parents don’t have a strong motivation to get their children back into their care.  When the parents lack motivation, they don’t meet certain criteria on their case plans – causing the kids to suffer through the instability of not having a ‘home’ since their parents don’t seem to care, and the parents can even skip weekly visits with their children – this causes the kids to go through a roller coaster of emotional distress.  None of that is healthy for the children! 

I strongly believe that there should be higher standards for biological parents to achieve, as well as biological parent accountability if these families truly want to get their kids back into their own care.  I also strongly believe that there should be organizations available to these parents to help minimize the percentage of children who reenter the foster care system.  Every little bit helps.  Every child matters.  Every emotion should be carefully considered. 

 WORKS CITED

Anonymous. “I Was in Foster Care as a Child.” Experience             Project. May 30. Web. October 18, 2013.                                 www.experienceproject.com/stories/Was-In-Foster-Care-As-A-Child/3212118

Child Safety in Foster Care Planning Council for Health and Services. “Best and Evidence-Based Practices that          Enhance      Safety of Children in Foster Care.” PDF article.                                     May 2009. Pages 1-23. Web. October 18, 2013.              www.planningcouncil.org/PDF/Best.Practices.pdf

Child Welfare Information Gateway. “Concurrent Planning.”          Child Welfare Information Gateway. 2012. Web.                        October 18, 2013.           https://www.childwelfare.gov/permanency/overview/concurrent.cfm

Craft, Carrie. “What Are the Steps to Family Reunification within the      Foster Care System?” About.com. 2013. Web.               October 18, 2013.                                                                   http://adoption.about.com/od/working-with-birth-parents/a/What-Are-The-Steps-To-Family-Reunification-Within-The-Foster-Care-Systyem.htm

 “Foster Care History & Accomplishments”.        Childrensaidsociety.org.Web. November 24,2013.                          www.childrensaidsociety.org/adoption-foster-care/foster-care-history-accomplishments

“History of Foster Care in the United States.” National                             Foster Parent Association. Web.  November 24, 2013.             www.nfpaonline.org/blank.htm

“Home Study Definition”. www.mirriam-webster.com

Wulczyn, Fred. “Family Reunification.” Future of Children.             95-114. Web. December 2, 2013.                                                         www.futureofchildren.org

~Good Intentions~

I always have good intentions when it comes to blogging, and these good intentions usually last about three days, then life takes over again and blogging is no longer on my mind.  With this blog, I hope - HOPE - to blog fairly frequently.