The Flaws of the Foster Care System in the United States

Serious Problems With The Foster Care System

The foster care system in the United States has serious flaws that Americans do not realize. foster care is not a very trending subject; however, as Andrew Bridge demonstrates in his memoir Hope’s Boy, the foster care system has serious problems regarding the well-being of the children it is meant to protect. The United States foster care system exposes children to violence and abuse that leaves them feeling less loved and cared for than before they were in the state’s custody, and fails to properly support children before they are emancipated.

When people think of foster care the first thing that comes to mind is adoption. In a relatively ideal situation, the foster care system would help a child out of an abusive or dangerous situation, and swiftly place him or her in a caring home with a loving family. The idea works well on paper; however, things do not run that smoothly. Some children never get adopted and are bounced around the foster care system for their entire adolescent lives until they are released, eventually ending up homeless. And even if children are adopted, foster parents are often abusive and uncaring, leaving children with serious emotional trauma.

Children who never get adopted, are emancipated from the state’s custody when they turn eighteen, and then often end up homeless or in Prison. when a child lives his or her entire life in the foster care system they feel unwanted. They never learn basic life skills or how to take care of themselves. The most important thing children need is love, and although it is possible for children to feel loved in a large facility where care-takers may never even bother to learn their names, it is highly unlikely. Research indicates that roughly twenty percent of children emancipated from foster care become homeless every year (Calvin). Between 2003 and 2008 an estimated five thousand children from the state of California alone, became homeless after leaving the state’s custody (Calvin). The foster care system fails to provide children with the support that they need to live a normal life.

Even if children are adopted, abusive foster parents and care-takers can make their lives even worse than before. In order to help foster children find happy homes, it would make sense to make the adoption process easier, but because of abusive and neglectful foster parents, it must stay rigorous and highly monitored in order to keep children safe. Unfortunately, before children are even adopted, they may experience abuse from social workers and care-takers as soon as they enter the system. In a speech he gave at Century College, Andrew Bridge said “From my experience as a child, the social worker’s job is to take children from what they know, and make them experience what they do not.” (Bridge, Speech). Children are vulnerable, and as sad as it is, the people sworn to protect them can often damage them the most.

It is hard to find concrete solutions for problems regarding foster care, but the answer may lie in the United States legislature. In his article “Fighting Poverty Would Reduce Child Abuse,” United States congressman, Carlos Uresti says “we know children in poor health are also at a much higher risk of abuse or neglect, especially those with serious or chronic health problems or [who were] premature deliveries. Quality prenatal and postnatal health care for these children can greatly reduce one of the biggest factors leading to neglect.” (Uresti). Uresti is saying that manipulating adoption opportunities may not be the answer, but instead, that Americans should stop the abuse before it happens by implementing more effective laws regarding health care and economic reform.

Andrew Bridge addresses the lack of composure and care given to foster children by their social workers in a speech given in the speech at the speech that I mentioned earlier. Bridge says “never once after I was taken into the state of California’s custody did any social worker even bother to talk to me about my mother.” In Hope’s Boy, Bridge also recounts on a particular social worker’s generally neglect for the children he is meant to be protecting, Bridge writes “Can I take my shirt? My mom gets mad when I lose things.’ Irritated, the man who had led me down the hall stepped toward me and condescendingly shook his head. ‘Noo.” (Bridge, Hope’s Boy). Andrew Bridge experienced nothing but hardships from social workers while in the United States foster care system; One of the last things Andrew says in his speech is that “We can do better.”

The United States foster care system has flaws; that is not to say that we should do away with it or anything, for it will always be necessary to care for children in need of help, but we must identify its problems in order to find a solution to them. Andrew Bridge’s book Hope’s Boy does something that other literature and media neglects to do by calling attention to problems regarding foster care. Andrew Bridge tackles the problems with foster care he experienced first hand as a child by not only fighting them legally as a lawyer, but spreading the word as an author. Issues with foster care are extremely important because each foster child could potentially change the world; therefore problems regarding adoption and child care must be fought politically and personally in order to give children everywhere safe, loving homes.

Works Cited

• Bridge, Andrew. Hope’s Boy. New York: Hyperion, 2008. Print.
• Bridge, Andrew. Century College. 3300 Century Avenue North, White Bear Lake, MN. 24 Feb 2015.
• Uresti, Carlos I. “Fighting Poverty Would Reduce Child Abuse.” Child Abuse. Ed. Lucinda Almond. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
• Calvin, Elizabeth. “Homelessness Is a Serious Problem Among Foster Youth.” Homelessness.
• Ed. Tamara Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “My So-Called Emancipation.” New York, NY: Human Rights Watch, 2010. 1-8. Opposing
• Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

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