Orphan care
“Do not withhold good from those to whome it is due, when it is within the power of your hand to do so” (Proverbs 3:27). A sign of a great nation is how it cares for the elderly and orphans. At first glance, America seems to be doing well in the area of orphan care. The United States does not have orphanages like other countries. You never hear children referred to as orphans. Why is America doing so well serving this vulnerable population? What is the importance of having a family? The dictionary not only defines a orphan as child without a father and mother but, “a child who lacks support, supervision, care and a child deprived of parental care that has not been adopted . The fact of the matter is America has roughly about 568,000 orphans and many orphanages, with the new label foster child and group homes.
The government laws and policy have made great strides in the past couple of years, in the protection of this vulnerable population but, still has a great deal work to revamp the current standing law . The current government law has several gray areas that at first glance appear to be practices, to aid foster children, but in essence are detrimental. The first is the government does not want to create legal orphans. This practice often affects older foster children (three and above) that are difficult to place. The state does not terminate parental rights until adoptive parents are available, even in cases where there is no hope of reunification or reunification could take multiple years. These laws have several consequences first; increasingly many children are spending a large part of their childhood in foster or institutional care with frequent changes in placement due to American looking overseas to adopt . The emphasis on family preservation at all cost, even for repeat offenders has created children growing up in the system and social workers are seeing children with far more emotional damage than previous decades.
This emotional damage witnessed in foster children is a byproduct of the inability to attach to caregivers, due to previous abuse and instability of caregivers in the foster care system. To create strong attachments or heal broken attachments, children must have a consistent caregiver that imparts meaning to their inner world of body signals. This parental child dance teaches children, others people recognize their needs and this establishes the future foundation for trust, empathy and understanding in the child’s future relationships . Multiple foster home placements, abuse, and neglect are associated unlawful behavior two to five years after emancipation from out of home care. Foster children are ten times more likely to have mental health problems then other children that are Medicaid eligible .
Foster parents are inadequately prepared, to parent, these emotional hurt children that are victims of the system intended to protect and save them. Social workers are inadequately paid and caseloads, so overburden their jobs become reactive instead of proactive and the children in care suffer.There is a focus on family preservation after abuse and neglect has occurred. There are few programs, which provide focus on early intervention to prevent child abuse in families . The programs to teach adoptive parents about caring for emotionally damaged children are substandard.
A strong caregiver bond during childhood is related to one’s ability to develop meaningful relationships with other people, to control emotion, and inhibitions. Foster children already have attachment related problems due to abuse and neglect. The length of time a child remains in foster care decreases a child’s chances of developing quality attachments; adoption or reunification is the most important goals for these children. Dysfunctional attachment during childhood is a significant public health concern because it is the underlining cause of many of the problems faced by society.
Healthy people 2110 objectives related to school age children include: decreased violence, unintentional injury, suicide, addiction to tobacco, alcohol use, teenage pregnancy, decreased AIDS, STDS, and environmental health. The government has set these goals to improve the nation’s health and decrease the United States financial expenditure on preventable illness . With the recent economic downturn, programs for at risk populations have been substantially cut. All children in Foster care are entitled to receive Medicaid, dental care, psychiatric care, free college education, school vouchers to magnet schools, and a monthly stipend for their care. On the surface, foster children seem to be well care for by the American tax dollars. These entitlement programs come from State budgets, with some costs reimbursed by the federal government to the state. The problem is services are often difficult to obtain. It is common for parents to have to drive two hours or more to see a child psychologist. A child that needs residential care or special education are almost always placed on a waiting list, when the child receives services, the window of opportunity that the care would have been the most effective is long since past. Often times social workers, foster parents and school official are unaware of benefits the children are eligible to receive . Dysfunctional childhood attachment leads to multiple medical issues in the life of a child and carries over to adulthood. A dysfunctional attachment as a child leads, to filled jails, mental institution, alcoholics, and drug addicts, in the future if left untreated.
The money saved in the budget is later spent in greater amounts on future health issues, stemming from poor quality parental attachment. The achievement of healthy people goals, of 2010 is more likely, if all children in foster care receive easy access to attachment therapy from day one of placement. For attachment, therapy to be effective it is important for the entire family to receive therapy by a mental health expert well versed in this type of care. Empirical evidence supports treatment using parental coaching along with child play therapy as the most effective in treating this disorder . There is a deficit of psychiatrist well versed in the treatment of attachment disorders, but nurses trained in parent and child bonding have already proven their effectiveness in the community, this is just a extension of the training they have already received . As a society, we have much more than money to lose if these children are not care for properly.
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The government laws and policy have made great strides in the past couple of years, in the protection of this vulnerable population but, still has a great deal work to revamp the current standing law . The current government law has several gray areas that at first glance appear to be practices, to aid foster children, but in essence are detrimental. The first is the government does not want to create legal orphans. This practice often affects older foster children (three and above) that are difficult to place. The state does not terminate parental rights until adoptive parents are available, even in cases where there is no hope of reunification or reunification could take multiple years. These laws have several consequences first; increasingly many children are spending a large part of their childhood in foster or institutional care with frequent changes in placement due to American looking overseas to adopt . The emphasis on family preservation at all cost, even for repeat offenders has created children growing up in the system and social workers are seeing children with far more emotional damage than previous decades.
This emotional damage witnessed in foster children is a byproduct of the inability to attach to caregivers, due to previous abuse and instability of caregivers in the foster care system. To create strong attachments or heal broken attachments, children must have a consistent caregiver that imparts meaning to their inner world of body signals. This parental child dance teaches children, others people recognize their needs and this establishes the future foundation for trust, empathy and understanding in the child’s future relationships . Multiple foster home placements, abuse, and neglect are associated unlawful behavior two to five years after emancipation from out of home care. Foster children are ten times more likely to have mental health problems then other children that are Medicaid eligible .
Foster parents are inadequately prepared, to parent, these emotional hurt children that are victims of the system intended to protect and save them. Social workers are inadequately paid and caseloads, so overburden their jobs become reactive instead of proactive and the children in care suffer.There is a focus on family preservation after abuse and neglect has occurred. There are few programs, which provide focus on early intervention to prevent child abuse in families . The programs to teach adoptive parents about caring for emotionally damaged children are substandard.
A strong caregiver bond during childhood is related to one’s ability to develop meaningful relationships with other people, to control emotion, and inhibitions. Foster children already have attachment related problems due to abuse and neglect. The length of time a child remains in foster care decreases a child’s chances of developing quality attachments; adoption or reunification is the most important goals for these children. Dysfunctional attachment during childhood is a significant public health concern because it is the underlining cause of many of the problems faced by society.
Healthy people 2110 objectives related to school age children include: decreased violence, unintentional injury, suicide, addiction to tobacco, alcohol use, teenage pregnancy, decreased AIDS, STDS, and environmental health. The government has set these goals to improve the nation’s health and decrease the United States financial expenditure on preventable illness . With the recent economic downturn, programs for at risk populations have been substantially cut. All children in Foster care are entitled to receive Medicaid, dental care, psychiatric care, free college education, school vouchers to magnet schools, and a monthly stipend for their care. On the surface, foster children seem to be well care for by the American tax dollars. These entitlement programs come from State budgets, with some costs reimbursed by the federal government to the state. The problem is services are often difficult to obtain. It is common for parents to have to drive two hours or more to see a child psychologist. A child that needs residential care or special education are almost always placed on a waiting list, when the child receives services, the window of opportunity that the care would have been the most effective is long since past. Often times social workers, foster parents and school official are unaware of benefits the children are eligible to receive . Dysfunctional childhood attachment leads to multiple medical issues in the life of a child and carries over to adulthood. A dysfunctional attachment as a child leads, to filled jails, mental institution, alcoholics, and drug addicts, in the future if left untreated.
The money saved in the budget is later spent in greater amounts on future health issues, stemming from poor quality parental attachment. The achievement of healthy people goals, of 2010 is more likely, if all children in foster care receive easy access to attachment therapy from day one of placement. For attachment, therapy to be effective it is important for the entire family to receive therapy by a mental health expert well versed in this type of care. Empirical evidence supports treatment using parental coaching along with child play therapy as the most effective in treating this disorder . There is a deficit of psychiatrist well versed in the treatment of attachment disorders, but nurses trained in parent and child bonding have already proven their effectiveness in the community, this is just a extension of the training they have already received . As a society, we have much more than money to lose if these children are not care for properly.
