Abstract
This is an analysis of a social issue that affects the lives of many children nationally and statewide. The rise in the number of children entering the foster care system has increased tremendously within the last few years. There are several factors that can be cited as the root cause of the increase seen today, which includes: poverty, child abuse and neglect, problems with truancy, caretakers inability to cope with life transitions, parent incarceration, medical disabilities (parent or child), and most prevalently, the opioid epidemic. Data is provided to explain and further illustrate the foster care growth along with the need for advocacy, adequate resources, policy reformation, juvenile justice programs dedicated to working with troubled foster youth, and evidence-based intervention plans.
Keywords: foster care, opioid epidemic, juvenile justice, substance abuse, reformation, intervention, evidence based practice, poverty, neglect, child abuse, youth, and advocacy.
Introduction
For many years, there had been a decrease in the number of children being placed into the foster care system in the United States (U.S.). However, within the last three years, just the opposite has occurred; there has been a national and statewide increase in the number of children being placed into foster care. The reason for the increase in due in part to the poverty, child abuse and neglect, and most commonly, the opioid crisis, which affects the lives of many across the nation. Georgia, specifically, has seen an astronomical increase in children entering the system from 7,300 in 2015 to 15,100 in 2018. The numbers are troubling, and the statistics are even more concerning for those who are affected by this system.
Overview of the Problem
Foster care can be defined as 24-hour substitute care for children outside their own homes with their biological or adoptive parents or their legal guardians. Foster youth can enter care in a number of ways including referrals from medical social workers, school social workers, anonymous reports or police reports amongst many others. When children enter foster care, they are placed in different settings. These settings can include relative foster homes, non-relative homes, group homes, therapeutic foster care homes, emergency shelters, and pre-adoptive homes. Foster care can affect the lives of many, regardless of race and social status. According to AFCARS, in 2016 nearly half (44 percent) of the children in foster care were Caucasian while about 23 percent were Black and 21 percent were Hispanic (2017). With reunification being the main goal of foster care, over half (51 percent) of children were reunified with their parents or primary caretakers in 2016 and close to half of the children (45 percent) who left foster care in FY 2016 were in care for less than 1 year (AFCARS, 2017).
Factors Associated with the Rise in Foster Care
Understanding the factors associated with parental substance abuse and how their interactions increase a child’s likelihood of entering foster care, is a conceptual framework for understanding the complexity of this issue. Research shows that there is a clear relationship between alcohol or drug addiction among parents and other risk factors such as domestic violence, poverty, incarceration, and mental illness (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson (2013) provide a detailed explanation of how parental substance abuse is often connected to these other risk factors that place children at risk for being removed from their home.
There is a clear relationship between child maltreatment, poverty, and children entering the foster care system (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). Lower class families have greater difficulty in taking proper care of their children and meeting life’s demands due to the additional difficulties that they face and their lack of resources to address their problems (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). Previous research shows that deprivation and poverty predicted over 60 percent of cases in which children who had been reunited with their families were placed back into foster care (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013).
Domestic violence is also a factor that increases the likelihood that a child will be removed from their home due at an increased risk for neglect and child abuse (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). Additionally, findings show that domestic violence is highly prevalent among those who struggle with substance abuse (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013).
Mental illness is another risk factor often related to substance abuse (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). Among families involved in the foster care system, parents who suffer from mental illness are more likely to have their parental rights terminated (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). The interrelationship between substance abuse and mental health disorders may place children at an especially high risk of being removed from their parents’ custody (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013).
Lastly, parents who are incarcerated, particularly mothers, are more likely to have their parental rights terminated (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). Findings indicate that there is a high prevalence of substance abuse among the inmate population; about 75 percent of inmates were found to have struggled with substance abuse throughout most of their lives (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013).
Conceptual Framework
After a steady decline for several years in a row (Child Trends, 2018), the number of children in foster care has been on the rise since the year 2012, according to a 2016 report by the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) (2017). The number of children entering foster care each year has increased since 2012 (AFCARS, 2017). There are a number of factors connected with children having to be removed from their homes (see table below). The AFCARS (2017) report indicates that in 2016, neglect was a reason why 61 percent of children entering foster care that year were removed from their homes. Parental drug abuse was the next largest reason (34 percent), followed by the incapacity of the caregiver to cope (14 percent), and physical abuse (12 percent) (AFCARS, 2017).
Circumstances Associated with Child’s Removal (AFCARS, 2017)
Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between parental alcohol and drug abuse and other forms of child abuse (Meyer, McWey, McKendrick, & Henderson, 2013). For example, one study of children in foster care indicated that parental alcohol or drug abuse was a factor in about 75 percent of cases where neglect and abuse was a reason for the child’s removal (Meyer et al., 2013). Not only is parental substance abuse a significant factor in children’s removal from their homes, but researchers have found that children who enter foster care for this reason are less likely to be reunited with their families in a timely manner, compared to those removed for other reasons (Brook & McDonald, 2009).
Parental drug abuse is a growing concern in our country (Peterson Lent & Otto, 2018). In a recent five-year span, there was close to an 8 percent increase in the number of cases where parental substance abuse was the reason for the child entering the foster care system (Peterson Lent & Otto, 2018). The rise in children in foster care since 2012 is largely due to our nation’s opioid crisis, according to experts (Peterson Lent & Otto, 2018).
Research suggests that alcohol or drug abuse among parents is often associated with other variables that place children at risk for being removed from their homes, such as, domestic violence, poverty, incarceration, and mental illness (Meyer et al., 2013). Meyer et al. (2013) present a detailed explanation of how parental substance abuse is often connected to these other risk factors that place children at risk for entering foster care, providing a useful framework from which to conceptualize this issue.
There is a strong relationship between poverty, child abuse, and children entering foster care (Meyer et al., 2013). Lower class families may have greater difficulty in taking proper care of their children and meeting life’s demands due to the additional difficulties that they face and their lack of resources to address their problems (Meyer et al., 2013). Previous research shows that deprivation and poverty predicted over 60 percent of cases in which children who had been reunited with their families were placed back into foster care (Meyer et al., 2013).
Interventions
Reforms to the foster care system have largely followed the same trends, moving increasingly toward a system of benign neglect for low-risk cases and more targeted and supportive supervision for high-risk cases. In addition, diversion programs and treatment services have been better developed for juveniles. The Positive Youth Justice (PYJ) model is a “strengths-based” model that builds on young people’s existing resources and their ties to their peers, families, and communities. The concepts and principles of PYJ offer valuable guidance for the design of interventions for youth. Unfortunately, few programs draw on PYJ principles. PYJ could and should be adapted for youth in foster care. In fact, PYJ might be well suited as a principal theory of rehabilitation for youth. Other treatments and approaches will continue to be necessary as a supplemental response to particular subsets of youth who have contact with the justice system, either themselves or their caregivers.
Youth who commit violent acts, for example, will always prompt a strong response from law enforcement and corrections. Yet, punishment and deterrence are not effective strategies for helping youth to succeed at school and work. All youth in the system, even those who require some of these specialized treatments, need basic supports and opportunities if they are to avoid future criminality and learn to lead positive, productive adult lives. PYJ is an effective framework for designing general interventions for young offenders as well as youth in care, as indicated above. A positive youth development framework would encourage youth justice systems to focus on protective factors as well as risk factors, strengths as well as problems, and broader efforts to facilitate successful transitions to adulthood for justice-involved youth. A positive youth development framework for these youth would have to be different from a framework designed for more conventional or normative youth.
“The Positive Youth Justice Model includes 12 key components depicted as a 2 by 6 matrix. Each cell in the matrix represents the interaction of two key assets needed by all youth: (1) learning/doing, and (2) attaching or belonging. Each asset should be developed within the context of six separate life domains (work, education, relationships, community, health, and creativity)” (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2014).
This has had direct implications on youth in the foster care system. Newly released foster care and adoption data show an increase in the number of children in foster care and an increase in the number of adoptions from the U.S. child welfare system.
“Of the 15 categories states can report for the circumstances associated with a child’s removal from home and placement into care, drug abuse by a parent had the largest percentage point increase, from 32 percent in FY 2015 to 34 percent in FY 2016. Approximately 92,000 children were removed from their home in FY 2016 because at least one parent had a drug abuse issue” (The AFCARS Report, 2017).
The continued trend of parental substance abuse is very concerning, especially when it means children must enter foster care as a result,” said Steven Wagner, acting assistant secretary for children and families at Administration for Children and Families. The seriousness of parental substance abuse, including the abuse of opioids, is an issue that needs to be addressed through prevention, treatment and recovery-support measures. “The Children’s Bureau at ACF recently awarded 18 grants totaling more than $12.5 million to help improve the well-being and permanency outcomes for children, infants, and families who are affected by a parent’s or caregiver’s substance misuse, including opioid abuse” (The AFCARS Report, 2017). Services provided through the regional partnership grants and the collaborative community court team sites will address needs for families experiencing substance abuse through various activities, such as early intervention, trauma-informed services delivery, and family engagement. “Families of children who come into contact with the child welfare system often are faced with complex problems and this is why we are allowing state and local communities to implement projects that address an array of needs,” said Jerry Milner, acting commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth and Families and associate commissioner at the Children’s Bureau.
Children, Youth and Families and associate commissioner at the Children’s Bureau.
The awards were made in September of this year, through the Regional Partnership Grant Program and the establishment of a National Quality Improvement Center for Collaborative Community Court Teams. They will implement and support approaches to address the various needs of families with substance use disorders, including opioid misuse, who come to the attention of child welfare. Addressing the opioid crisis is one of the three top clinical priorities at HHS, and the Department has committed to using its full expertise and resources to combat the epidemic. The composites of programming and models both theoretical and empirical are rooted in evidence-informed practice, policy and research. Examples are as follows: In Pittsburg, there is “a day treatment alternative to incarceration located in the city’s largely African American Hill District, a group of youth work with adults from the community to plan, plant, and maintain a community garden” (Butts, 2010). In Bend, Oregon, foster children and youth on probation work with adult mentors to build a domestic violence respite center; cut and deliver firewood for elderly residents, restore trout streams and, age 16 or older, assist with summer fire-fighting on public land. Each of these describes various state program settings where young people and adults work together in ways that are consistent with the principles of PYD. Youth and adults establish positive, pro-social relationships and then cooperate to provide opportunities and supports for other people, including other justice-involved youth. By actively participating in these efforts, young people learn that while they may have made mistakes in the past or their parents, they are also capable of learning new skills they can use to better themselves, their families, and their communities.
The aforementioned programs and projects described here allow adolescents to practice and demonstrate competency, caring, and a willingness to improve community life, which is essential to their personal development and rehabilitation. Relationship building is central to engaging youth in positive roles and productive social activities. Youth development interventions are unlikely to be effective without a strong focus on social development. A High-Risk Youth Intervention Model that employs sustained relationships to support young people in believing that education, employment, and civic responsibility are valid pursuits in the struggle to resist cycles of impoverishment and community violence. It is also important to note the advances within not only foster children who have come into contact with the juvenile justice system but preventative measures for those currently outside of the system to detract from delinquency.
As part of the National Council for Adoption’s (NCFA) Families for All initiative, they are focusing on foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention. They are focusing on how states can better recruit and train prospective parents to meet the unique needs of children who have experienced trauma and loss and better support parents during the process.
“NCFA and Northeastern University’s Dr. Elise Dallimore are leading a multi-state, longitudinal study to examine the attitudes of hundreds of foster and adoptive parents in order to: Identify barriers to successful outcomes, inform policy and programming at the state and local level, improve the recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents, and create a blueprint for national foster care success. Of the estimated 200,000 licensed foster homes, between 30–60 percent of foster parents drop out of foster parenting each year. This high turnover rate has led to a revolving door of recruiting and educating new foster parents and puts a strain on states” (NCFA, 2018).
With more than 437,000 children in foster care—and growing—our nation has a critical shortage of homes and training for children who have experienced trauma. NCFA aims to make a difference for these kids. Families of children who come into contact with the juvenile justice and child welfare system often are faced with complex problems and this is why states and local communities must implement projects that address an array of needs. While adoptions from foster care numbers are on the rise, preventing a child from entering foster care and, as the trend points out, subsequently, the juvenile justice system should be the main goal. NCFA is piloting a study with the foster care systems to track prospective foster and adoptive families as they begin their process, complete the trainings, accept placement, and seek to adopt through foster care. With the findings from this study, I think there will lie the ability to make changes that will result in fewer delinquencies and more permanent capable placements for children.
Advocating for Youth in Foster Care
In an effort to promote equity and fairness to foster youth, there are many things that we as social workers and as the general population can do, such as becoming a CASA, a guardian ad litem, a respite care provider or simply donate items to organizations that support foster care. Some organizations and companies partner up with foster care agencies to provide items such as school supplies and clothing. Mattress Firm and Wendy’s are amongst those organizations. Respite care, usually offered for a weekend, involves caring for a child when a foster family needs a break for illness or simply a time to regroup.
A CASA, or court appointed special advocate, is a volunteer who agrees to advocate in the best interest of the child. CASAs must pass a background check, and participate in 40-hour training course. They must also agree to stay with a case until it is completely closed which usually lasts one and a half years on average. CASAs are a resource, in addition to the child lawyer, who helps the child understand the court proceedings. Similar to a CASA, a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) also advocates in the best interest of the child. The main difference between a CASA and a GAL is that a GAL is an attorney who has received education in a formal setting such as law school. Also, state law (O.C.G.A. §15-11-104) requires the appointment of a guardian ad litem to represent an abused or neglected child in all stages of a judicial proceeding.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the number of children entering the foster care system within the United States is staggering. The opioid crisis, mental illness, and parental incarceration have all been associated with the recent increase of youth placed in foster care. As social workers, it is our duty to help advocate for equality and fairness within the system. If we band together and address some of the underlying issues that lead to placement in foster care, we can reduce the number of children that are removed from their familial units.
References
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). (2017). FY 2016 data.
Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/afcarsreport24.pdf
Brook, J. & McDonald, T. (2009). The impact of parental substance abuse on the stability of
family reunifications from foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(2), 193-
98. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019074090800180
Butts, J. A., Bazemore, G., & Meroe, A. S. (2010). Positive youth justice. Framing justice
interventions using the concept of positive youth development. Washington, DC: Coalition for Juvenile Justice.
Child Trends. (2018). Key facts about foster care. Retrieved from
https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/foster-care
Department of Juvenile Justice. (2014, August). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: National Report Series. Retrieved November 6, 2018, from https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/246826.pdf
Meyer, A. S., McWey, L. M., McKendrick, W., & Henderson, T. L. (2013). Substance using
parents, foster care, and termination of parental rights: The importance of risk factors for
legal outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(5), 39-49. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740910000034
NCFA. (2018, January 04). Stats Show Our Nation's Foster Care System is in Trouble. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://www.adoptioncouncil.org/blog/2018/01/stats-show-our-nations-foster-care-system-is-in-trouble
Peterson Lent, J. & Otto, A. (2018). Grandparents, grandchildren, and caregiving: The impacts of
America’s substance use crisis. American Society on Aging (ASA). Retrieved from
https://www.asaging.org/blog/grandparents-grandchildren-and-caregiving-impacts-
americas-substance-use-crisis
The AFCARS Report (pp. 1-6, Rep). (2017). Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children,
Youth and Families, Children's Bureau. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/media/press/2017/number-of-children-in-foster-care-continues-to-increase.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2014). JUVENILE DETENTION ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE PROGRESS REPORT 20l4(Rep.). Retrieved November 1, 2018, from The Annie E. Casey Foundation website: https://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-2014JDAIProgressReport-2014.pdf