Foster Care Research Paper

According to a 2007 study by the Children’s’ Defense Fund there are over 74 million children living in the United States (Child Population). Of that 74 million there are an estimated 510,000 that drift along in the nations foster care system. Although most of us have an idea of what foster care is there are still million of us who do not even know it exist. Have any of you ever wondered exactly what foster care is, why we need it, who started it, or most importantly how it affects society? By definition foster care is the supervised care for delinquent or neglected children usually in an institution or substitute home (wordnetweb.princeton.edu). “In 1635 less than 30 years after the founding of Jamestown Colony, at the age of seven Benjamin …show more content…
“Pennsylvania passed the first licensing law making it a misdemeanor to care for more than two unrelated children without a license” (nfpainc.org). The 20th century marked a huge turning point in the history of foster care when social services agencies began providing subsidies to foster parent in an effort to make the children feel more like a part of the family, and eliminating the need for the youth to be indentured. In the beginning, stages of the child welfare system the federal government limited its involvement in the child welfare system. “The Social Security Act of 1935 authorized the first federal grants for child welfare services” (pewfostercare.org).
”In 1974, Congress enacted the first major federal legislation addressing child abuse and neglect. In exchange for federal funding for child abuse prevention and treatment, The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) (Public Law 93-247) required states to establish child abuse reporting procedures and investigation systems. In response to CAPTA there became a rapid growth in the number of children who were removed from their homes and placed in foster care” …show more content…
“The adoption and Child Welfare Act made it a requirement that state make “reasonable efforts” to keep families together” (pewfostercare.org). This act helped to make a minor decrease in the number of children entering care. Foster care is designed to be the temporary resting place for the thousands of children waiting to be adopted. Unfortunately, for many the foster care system becomes the only home that they know. "As of September 30, 1999, 127,000 children were ‘waiting to be adopted,’ however only 36,000 were actually adopted in fiscal year 1999” (Wertheimer 4). On average only about 30 percent of children eligible for adoption are actually adopted. The chances for the children to be adopted decline every year, as they get older. “Children age 16-18 account for only 2 percent of all adoption in the United States” (Wertheimer

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