scholarly journals “STUDENTS FOR CHILDREN”: A VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME-MODEL FOR UNIVERSITIES FOR THE SUPPORT OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4.2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Gabriella Kulcsár ◽  
Judit Zeller ◽  
Beáta Korinek
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Volunteer Work ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Elective Course ◽  
The University ◽  
University Settings

Foster care institutions are badly understaffed and operate on the lowest expected standards in terms of human resources in Hungary. In many cases, child protection personnel working with children in foster care do not have the necessary qualifications, and even those that do are often so overloaded with tasks that they cannot routinely engage in meaningful social interactions with the children. This paper introduces a unique and easily adaptable model of volunteer ,,work in university settings that aims to improve the situation of children in foster care. The Students for Children Volunteer Programme was founded in 2010 in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pécs, Hungary, and is now part of the curriculum there both as an elective course and as a cross-faculty programme. From the outset, the primary goal of this initiative has been to improve the situation of children in foster care through student mentoring by empowering them to manage everyday challenges and develop meaningful perspectives on their futures. Other equally important objectives are to enhance students’ social sensitivity and skills and to shape their thinking through this challenging work. Since its inception, the programme has been operating with unbroken success and, over the years, nearly 400 volunteers have completed the programme. The long-term plan is that through this model a country-wide network of similar volunteer programmes can be developed to improve the situation of children in need. Although aspects of the Students for Children programme still need to be refined, our experience with it shows that it has invaluable social, educational, and psychological effects on both the children and the future law professionals.

Assessing the Health Status of Children Entering Foster Care

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Chernoff ◽  
Terri Combs-Orme ◽  
Christina Risley-Curtiss ◽  
Alice Heisler
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Complete Health ◽  
History Of ◽  
Short Time

Objective. Most research on health problems of children in foster care has been cross-sectional, resulting in overselection of children who have been in care long-term and underrepresentation of children who are in care for a short time. Methodology. This paper reports on the health of a large cohort of children who had complete health examinations at the time of entry into foster care in a middle-size city during a 2-year period. Results. Results indicate that >90% of the children had an abnormality in atleast one body system, 25% failed the vision screen, and 15% failed the hearing screen. The children were also lighter and shorter than the norm. Mental health screening revealed that 75% had a family history of mental illness or drug or alcohol abuse. Of children older than 3 years of age, 15% admitted to or were suspect for suicidal ideation and 7% for homicidal ideation. Of the children younger than 5 years of age, 23% had abnormal or suspect results on developmental screening examinations. At the time of entry into foster care, 12% of the children required an antibiotic. More than half needed urgent or nonurgent referrals for medical services and, for children >3 years of age, more than half needed urgent or nonurgent referrals for dental and mental health services. Just 12% of the children required only routine follow-up care. Conclusions. The high prevalence and broad range of health needs of children at the time they enter foster care necessitate the design and implementation of better models of health care delivery for children in foster care.

scholarly journals “If I’m Here, It’s Because I Do Not Have Anyone”: Social Support for the Biological Family during the Foster Care Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Vaquero ◽  
M. Àngels Balsells ◽  
Carmen Ponce ◽  
Aida Urrea ◽  
Alicia Navajas
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Care Process ◽  
Protection Measure ◽  
Child Protection Services ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Care Processes ◽  
Support Resources ◽  
Social Support Resources

Social support is a crucial element for families in vulnerable situations, especially for those with children in foster care processes. This support is key to the acceptance of the protection measure in the initial moments and to laying the foundations for collaboration towards reunification. However, the social support of these families is limited, and families’ use of support elements is strongly related to their attitude towards them. The aims of this article were to identify the types and characteristics of social support and to analyze what elements influence families’ attitudes towards these supports. The qualitative study research was carried out in Spain through focus groups and interviews with 135 participants: 63 professionals from child protection services, 42 parents, and 30 children and adolescents who had been in foster care measures. Results show the diversity of social support resources available to families and demonstrate that families make unequal use of such resources depending on factors such as their experiences in the process of formalization and communication of the protection measure or their predisposition to receive support, among others. The important role played by social support resources in the promotion of factors that allow for successful reception and reunification is highlighted.

scholarly journals IS FOSTER CARE THE SAFE PLACE WE BELIEVE IT TO BE? IF NOT, WHY NOT?

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-515
Author(s):  
Rankwe Reuben Masha ◽  
Petro Botha
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Safe Place ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Abuse And Neglect

Foster care is an important part of the child protection system; however, it seems that some foster children are not protected – they are abused and neglected. The aims of this article are to confirm on a small scale whether children in foster care are indeed being abused and neglected and to develop an understanding of factors contributing to the abuse and neglect of these foster children. A qualitative research approach was applied. Findings confirmed the occurrence of abuse and/or neglect and provided information on factors relating to foster parents and the foster care system itself contributing to this phenomenon.

scholarly journals Child Protection and Child Outcomes: Measuring the Effects of Foster Care

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 1583-1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Juvenile Delinquency ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Causal Effects ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Teen Motherhood ◽  
Long Term Outcomes

Little is known about the effects of placing children who are abused or neglected into foster care. This paper uses the placement tendency of child protection investigators as an instrumental variable to identify causal effects of foster care on long-term outcomes—including juvenile delinquency, teen motherhood, and employment—among children in Illinois where a rotational assignment process effectively randomizes families to investigators. Large marginal treatment effect estimates suggest caution in the interpretation, but the results suggest that children on the margin of placement tend to have better outcomes when they remain at home, especially older children. (JEL H75, I38, J13)

scholarly journals A national study of the impact of outpatient mental health services for children in long-term foster care

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Bellamy ◽  
Geetha Gopalan ◽  
Dorian E. Traube
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Internalizing Behavior ◽  
Outpatient Mental Health ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
The Impact

Despite the tremendous mental health need evidenced by children in foster care and high rates of use of mental health services among children in foster care, little is known about the impact of outpatient mental health services on the behavioral health of this population. This study utilizes data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW), the first nationally representative study of child welfare in the United States. A subsample of 439 children who have experienced long-term foster care were included in this study. These data were used to estimate the impact of outpatient mental health services on the externalizing and internalizing behavior problems of children in long-term foster care. A propensity score matching model was employed to produce a robust estimate of the treatment effect. Results indicate that children who have experienced long-term foster care do not benefit from the receipt of outpatient mental health services. Study results are discussed in the context of earlier research on the quality of mental health services for children in foster care.

Foreign children in foster care (on the example of Bialskie region)

2018 ◽  
Vol 570 (5) ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
Maria Ruszkowska ◽  
Beata Wołosiuk
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Refugee Children ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Unaccompanied Minors ◽  
Family Situation ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Subject

This publication concerns refugee children who are not adequately cared for by adults and come to foster care in Poland. "Unaccompanied foreign child" means a child who does not have Polish nationality and is without a statutory representative, i.e. a parent or a guardian. The publication contains information obtained through interviews conducted with three educators who are long-term employees of care and educational institutions in the Bialskie region. The subject of interest was the situation of unaccompanied minors coming to care and education institutions. The analyses included family situation of these children (along with the status of their parents), length of their stay in foster care, types of emerging educational and upbringing difficulties and the possibility of implementing intercultural education in a care and education institution.

scholarly journals Can adoption at an early age protect children at risk from depression in adulthood? A Swedish national cohort study

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e000353
Author(s):  
Anders Hjern ◽  
Jesus Palacios ◽  
Bo Vinnerljung
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
General Population ◽  
Psychiatric Care ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Majority Population ◽  
Antidepressive Medication

ObjectiveOur aim was to investigate whether the risk of depression in adulthood in children raised by substitute parents from an early age differ by care arrangements.MethodsRegister study in Swedish national cohorts born 1972–1981, with three study groups of children raised in adoptive or foster homes with care starting before the age of 2 years and a comparison majority population group. Cox regression estimated HRs of prescribed antidepressive medication and specialised psychiatric care with a diagnosis of depression in adulthood during 2006–2012.ResultsCompared with the general population, long-term foster care carried the highest age-adjusted and sex-adjusted HR for both antidepressive medication, 2.07 (95% CI 1.87 to 2.28), and psychiatric care for depression, 2.85 (95% CI 2.42 to 3.35), in adulthood. Adults raised by adoptive parents were far more similar to the general population with HR of 1.19 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.43) for domestic and 1.13 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.18) for international adoption for antidepressive medication. Adjusting the analysis for school marks and income attenuated these risks more in the long-term foster care group.ConclusionThe study demonstrates the benefits of early adoption when substitute parents are provided for young children, and underlines the importance of improved educational support for children in foster care.

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