Foster Home Abuse

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Today, the divisions of health and human services report that more than 523,000 children who were placed in foster homes have exited because they can provide for themselves (Milaniak & Widom, 2015). 46% of the population was placed in non-relative care institutions, 25% were found in relative almshouses, 21% were found in cluster homes and 6% settled in adoptive units (Hong, Algood, Chiu, & Lee, 2011). Out of the 523,000 children placed in the foster homes, 39 % were whites, 39% were blacks, 17% were Hispanic and 5% originated from other racial groups (Hulette, Freyd, & Fisher, 2011). Even though they were exposed to exploitation and other forms of abuse, they survived the hardships, and most of them are now living a healthy life with their …show more content…
Children in environments where these elements exist have an upper hand of being abused. Understanding the contributing factors helps the professional caregivers to identify the forms of child abuse practiced in the institution and high-risk situations linked to the maltreatment to enable them to intervene properly (Kempe, Silverman, Steele, Droegemueller, & Silver, 2013). The common contributing factors of child maltreatment in foster homes include lack of supervision in the institution, psychological disorders among caregivers, substance abuse and …show more content…
Although most studies have been carried out in developed nations, there is a compelling proof that the action is common across the globe. At home, the perpetrators of child abuse are said to be parents. Due to domestic violence, poverty, and mental illness of the parents, many children tend to seek protection from foster homes. Children attract the attention of the officials of foster homes are those whose parents have died or whose parents are struggling with poverty and cannot take care of them. However, foster homes are also found of practicing child abuse. Various factors influence child abuse in foster homes. They include lack of supervision, psychological problems experienced by caregivers, substance abuse, and stress. The lack of supervision results in labour exploitation of the children. It is worth noting that children in foster homes bear upsetting incidents from their native homes, and they face additional problems such as separation from their parents or guardians. The risk of child maltreatment in foster homes increases with the factors such as disabilities. Children with disabilities are vulnerable to child abuse. Regrettably, other than maltreatment in the foster homes, research has found out that the children may experience challenges such as homelessness, particularly for the aging children. Therefore, it is important to develop the foster system to protect the