Facts on the Foster Care System and its Children

As our 31th president said, "Children are our most valuable natural resource;" yet every day our most valuable resource is placed in the temporary care of foster parents.

Due to unsafe environments, children need a surrogate family to provide for their well being. Foster families fulfill this important role by providing safe and caring homes to children who require long-term, temporary or emergency placements.

Over 510,000 American children are in foster care, taken away when their families were in crisis and couldn’t take care of them. However, there aren’t enough foster families to take all the children in, there isn’t enough money to provide them the things every child needs, and there aren’t enough people to simply cheer them up and give them hope for the future.

Missouri at a Glance

State Population             5,878,415

Population under18         1,424,830

Children in Foster Care         11,433

All the following information was gathered from the AFCARS data, 2006. The Administration for Children and Families (AFCARS) is a government agency headed by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. AFCARS collects case level information on all children in foster care.

Demographic Profile of Children in Care:

For the state of Missouri, there were 11,433 children in foster care in 2006.

Children can enter foster care at any age, from infancy up to 21 years, and most exit by the time they are 18 years old. In 2006, the median age of the children in foster care was about 10.2 years old.

AFCARS numbers have consistently shown a slightly greater percentage of boys than girls in foster care. The ratio of male to female children is 52 percent to 48 percent respectively.

Reasons children need Foster Care:

In 2006, Missouri had 93,054 total referrals for child abuse and neglect. Of those, 47,491 reports were referred for investigation. Out of the total investigations, 7,108 children were indicated as abused or neglected.

Child abuse can be defined as causing or permitting any harmful or offensive contact on a child's body as well as, any communication or transaction of any kind which humiliates, shames, or frightens the child. Child neglect is the failure to provide for the shelter, safety, supervision and/or nutritional needs of the child. Child neglect may be physical or emotional neglect:

Physical neglect includes refusal of or delay in seeking health care, abandonment, expulsion from the home or refusal to allow a runaway to return home, and inadequate supervision.

Emotional neglect includes such actions as marked inattention to the child's needs for affection, refusal of or failure to provide needed psychological care, spouse abuse in the child's presence, and permission of drug or alcohol use by the child.

In 2006, 43 children in Missouri died as a result of abuse or neglect.

Average Length of Stay and General Outcomes:

In Missouri, the average time a child spends in foster care is estimated to be 2 years (26.4 months). About half of the children experience three or more foster care placements. A total of 1,597 children or about fourteen percent live in group care or institutional settings.

"Aged-Out," is a term used that refers to children who become of legal age and are no longer required to stay in the foster care system. These “adults” have a higher than average incarceration rate and a higher than average drop-out rate.

"When the system fails, the children are very likely to move out of the system into the juvenile justice system, into the welfare system, into the adult criminal justice system," says Richard Gelles, dean of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Work and one of the authors of the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act

If nothing changes… by the year 2020:

  •Nearly 14 million reported cases of child abuse and neglect will be confirmed

  •22,500 children will die of abuse or neglect, most before their fifth birthday

  •More than 9 million children will spend some time in foster care

  •More than 300,000 children will age out, some in poor health and many unprepared success in higher education, technical college or the workforce

  •99,000 former foster youth, who aged out of the system, will experience homelessness

If we truly believe the children are our future, that all life should be protected and no child should be left behind, we must put action behind our words.

Only together can we make a difference.

For more information, visit:

http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/statistics/welfare_foster.cfm

 http://www.dss.mo.gov/re/pdf/cs/csfy06.pdf

How to Become a Foster Parent

Have you ever bought furniture from your local department store? You know the kind that comes in a box with all the piece and tools. Have you ever gotten home with the item, but the instructions were missing? Of course one always tries to put the furniture together, however after a few minutes the attempt always ends with just a bunch of pieces, that you know make a beautiful dining room table, but you just don’t quite know how to put it all together. Becoming a foster parent is exactly like this. The process requires many pieces but when put together makes one “the ultimate neighbor.”

Children who need foster parents have been taken out of their homes temporarily, for a variety of different reasons. Some reasons are neglect, abuse, abandonment, or other issues endangering their health and/or safety reports adopting.org. Foster parents provide a safe, temporary home for a child in crisis. They are part of the child’s support, treatment, and care programs while they and/or their families get back on their feet. Beth Graze a social worker for the Division of Social Services in Missouri said, “The system is already full of children without parents as it is.” For other statistics on the foster care system and more please continue reading.

Another question that arises is who can become a foster parent. The answer is simple, anyone of any race or religion, preferably between the ages of 21 and 65. Being under 65 is preferred, but not required. Couples can apply to become foster parents, but singles are welcome to become foster parents as well. A foster parent must have a stable income, and can own or rent their home. A foster must also be willing to participate in free training and assessment, and partner with the child’s family and a professional team where he/she is willing to voice concerns.

The foster parents program is a federal program. Funding is available. Medical and Dental insurance is provided to children in the state’s custody. Parents receive a monthly foster care reimbursement to help cover the costs related to caring for a foster child. Amounts vary depending on age of the child, level of care being provided, and the training level of the foster parents.

The Children’s Division, contracted agencies, and other community-based organizations offer continuing education and in-service training to help foster families.

How do I become a Foster Parent?

The first step in becoming a foster parent is to contact the state Division of Social Services. After a few minutes on the Missouri Division of Social Services website, it becomes clear that Adair County is part of the 2nd Circuit, which includes Adair, Lewis, and Knox Counties. Furthermore, in Adair County Melissa Perry is the lady to contact. Her address is 412 N Osteopathy, P.O. Box 670, Kirksville MO 63501. She can be reached by phone 660-665-2440. Through contacting Ms Perry one gains access to the second step in becoming a foster parent.

The next step is the application. While this application is lengthy, it is crucial. Every bit of information regardless of the tedious, minute detail is extremely important and useful. The detailed intimate application is an important first step in protecting foster children. While there is no right or wrong answer to any question, the answers help the reviewer to weed out foster parents that may not be a good fit for foster parenting.

After the application is received, reviewed, and approved, a home study is the next step. The home study includes many in home inspections and evaluations. These inspections and evaluations cover many aspects that are important to the foster child’s safety and needs. A home study also includes many background and criminal checks. Often everyone over the age of twelve is fingerprinted and given a background check.

The next step is the final step; it is also the most involved step. The applicant must go through a nine week training course. During this course the applicant will learn many aspect of being a foster parent, including emotional, physical, mental, and psychological.

Finally, after a lengthy process including an application, a home study, and a training course, you become a certified foster parent. A foster parent is the ultimate neighbor; a beautiful piece of furniture.