Introduction
At any given time, many children across the US are in need of a home due to various reasons such as inability of parents to provide support, child abuse or neglect and parental disability, sickness or death, imprisonment, drug and substance abuse, and many others. Consequently, foster care has developed into a large sector of the society with an aim of providing safe and supportive alternate living for the children. Social justice and policy are vital to social workers and the social work profession. As with many issues, the child welfare system remains an important topic to social work because it plays a role in enhancing children and families lives and well-being.
Discussion
The child welfare system was established in the country to protect vulnerable children who have been abused, neglected, and abandon. Despite efforts to provide safe and supportive care, the country foster care system is a highly controversial in its practice as it leaves children at a high risk of juvenile delinquency (Cavanagh, LaBerge & Cauffman, 2021). Arguably, the American foster care system has inherent shortcomings that expose children to potential factors that lead to juvenile delinquency. Therefore, there is a strong relationship between foster care and juvenile delinquency, which results in a pipeline with children in the foster care system having a greater probability of becoming involved in the juvenile system.
Social expectations are that each growing child grows an develops into a responsible, successful, and reliable member. Nevertheless, countless factors contribute to the likelihood of each growing child to succeed. For example, a large number of children in the country lives in nontraditional families (Griffith, 2019). Parental support plays an important and key role in providing each child the appropriate foundation for their future success. Modern households’ structures, as compared to several decades ago, show more variations, shifting the manner of raising many children across the country. For instance, over the last four decades, there has been an increase in the number of single-parent families dependent on one source of income, households based on non-marital cohabitation, and temporary foster care families (Simmons-Horton, 2020). Almost a quarter of children in the country live in a single-parent household, which is the highest in the world. Moreover, the number of children living in foster care is higher than in any other country in the world.
The foster care system in the US was established with an aim of keeping children safe from neglect and abuse. Federal and state laws allow foster welfare agencies to determine whether a child is safe at home and if investigations show otherwise, they have the duty to remove children from that environment and place them into substitute care (Gelles, 2017). Almost a quarter million children are living in the US foster care system. This system dates back to the 17th century when it was meant to evoke a nurturing alternative to orphanages (Cavanagh, LaBerge & Cauffman, 2021). Since then, it has become a strong social institution that has taken care of millions of people in their childhood years. Each year, the lives of thousands of children depend on the system for home, education, health, and other basic needs (Fylkesnes et al., 2021). Over the years, the foster care system has experienced many changes to become the current program.
Several types of foster care are available to meet the needs of specific children. The most common types are private foster homes and group homes (congregate care) where several children are housed (Fylkesnes et al., 2021). Options such as kinship care and kinship care provide children with support where situation demand fit. The current system is a highly bureaucratic and publicly licensed establishment of supervised foster care. It is a widely available system that presents a good living alternative for children who do not have other options. In addition, at its face value, the system seems to provide fort all the needs of each child. Nevertheless, this is not the case because various shortcomings are associated with the system, mainly due to problematic errors associated with the institution. For instance, improper caretaking, lack of facility or program resources, unreasonable standards, and unattained level of appropriate care for children thrive in the system. All these problems have profound impact on the growing child, which can lead to other issues after they leave the facilities.
Inequality leads to placement of children in foster care homes. For instance, children from historically discriminated minorities such as blacks and Hispanics are more likely to spend time in foster homes than their white counterparts. Moreover, children from LGBTQ and those with mental illnesses are more likely to be placed in foster care than those from the conventional families (Cavanagh et al., 2021). Consequently, children from the minority groups are disproportionately exposed to the problems and shortcomings associated with the current foster care system.
It is imperative to note that foster care is associated with multiple scandals, with several ethical and reasonable practice issues deeply seated in the system. Such problems include abusive tactics, failing to provide basic necessaries, hunger and starvation, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse and harassment, and disregarding mental health (Gelles, 2017). In most cases, states are not able to fully and comprehensively investigate such cases in foster homes, which implies that the prevalence of abuse within the system might be higher than reported.
Due to these problems, many children are exposed to factors that may lead not only to lack of success in life, but also towards prison. There is a strong relationship between spending time in foster care system and ending up in the prison system (Cavanagh et al., 2021). One of the intervening factors that define and shape the foster care-to-prison pipeline is the high probability of dropping out of school among children in the system. Evidence from various sources and studies indicate a strong relationship between spending time in foster care system and dropping out of school.
The noted problems of abuse, harassment, and improper care at the facilities are the major factors that contribute to dropping out of school. Compared to children brought up in their families, children in foster care system are more than twice likely to drop out of school. Moreover, dropping out of school is strongly linked to entering the prison system (Fylkesnes et al., 2021). Consequently, the relationship between a child being placed in foster care and going to the juvenile justice system is a critical issue in the American society. Moreover, many children do have stability and usually face multiple hoke placements in their life in the system (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). Evidence from multiple sources indicate that children with five and above placements in foster homes will eventually enter the justice system. Consequently, it implies that the success of many children around the country is at risk because of being placed in foster homes.
As noted previously, the aim of establishing the foster care system is to ensure that children with need for home and support are housed and their needs met accordingly to provide them a chance in life. Nonetheless, this is not always the case because the system is mostly overbearing, strict, and offer weak support. Consequently, many children are likely to engage in risky behaviors or live under dangerous and threatening situations (Cavanagh, LaBerge & Cauffman, 2021). One of the most common risky behaviors that children without adequate support or those facing abuses and harassment engage include such crimes as theft, shoplifting, drug abuse, and others. In most cases, children in this category tend to find other means of supporting their needs, which might include stealing. Such children are at risk of embarking on dangerous paths with severe effects that may last for a long time in their lives (Fylkesnes et al., 2021). The extant literature provide evidence that many children in foster homes are at risk of passing through the foster care-to-prison pipeline as they are some of the most vulnerable people in the society.
Once they are subject to the justice system’s scrutiny, such children are likely to face tough standards of the courts, which is sometimes a punitive disposition. The juvenile court system in the country was established with the aim of rehabilitating rather than punishing the unruly youths. However, this is not the case because evidence from extant literature indicate that confining young people does not necessary lead to rehabilitation of behaviors (Gelles, 2017). Rather, they may become hardened and more likely to commit crimes or resume old behaviors once they are out of prison. Once children are channeled from the foster home to the justice system, they are likely to meet difficulties and hardships, most of which are irreversible (Cavanagh, LaBerge & Cauffman, 2021). Police and courts are highly scrutinizing as they seek to establish evidence and pass the correct judgement, but this may be embarrassing and traumatizing to the youths. They may develop trauma that might have psychological effect over a long time in their lifetimes.
Furthermore, even after leaving the justice system, the affected children are less likely to fit back into the society. Those that are released from the justice system while still under the age of 17 are likely to be returned to the foster homes where they might face such issues as stigmatization (Gelles, 2017). Even those who attain adulthood while in the justice system find it difficult to fit into the society due to stigmatization. Finding safe places to live and employment for such people is a common problem after leaving prisons in adulthood (VanMeter, 2022). In essence, once a child passes through the care system-to-justice system pipeline, the damage is already done and it might be difficult to lead normal lives or achieve success.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the foster care-to-justice system pipeline is a social issue in America today. Although the foster care is designed to provide children with support when their families are not able to do so due to various reasons, various problems and shortcomings are associated with the system. This explains why many children in the foster care system are likely to proceed towards the justice system and end serving time in prison. The strong link between staying in the foster care system and serving in prison remains a problem in the country and is described as the foster care-to-prison pipeline. Unfortunately, this pipeline affects majority of children from disadvantaged backgrounds such as those from minority groups as they are more likely to be placed under foster care than those from other backgrounds.
References
Cavanagh, C., LaBerge, A., & Cauffman, E. (2021). Attitudes toward legal actors among Dual System Youth. Journal of Social Issues, 77(2), 504–527. Web.
Fylkesnes, M., Larsen, M., Havnen, K., Christiansen, Ø., & Lehmann, S. (2021). Listening to advice from young people in foster care—from participation to belonging. The British Journal of Social Work, 51(6), 1983–2000. Web.
Gelles, R. (2017). Out of harm’s way: Creating an effective child welfare system. Oxford University Press.
Griffith, C. (2019). Foster care issues brought before Legislature. The State Journal; Charleston, 14–17.
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Web.
Simmons-Horton, S. Y. (2020). “A bad combination”: Lived experiences of youth involved in the foster care and Juvenile Justice Systems. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 38(6), 583–597. Web.
VanMeter, F. (2022). The association between out-of-home placement characteristics and crossover from the foster care system to the juvenile justice system: Risk and protective factors. Web.