Foster care is care provided for children whose families are temporarily unable to care for them. Guided by federal (national) laws, local government determines the process of arranging foster care.
Foster parents assume day-to-day care for the child but in most instances do not have legal authority to authorize medical treatment. Although the details vary by state, in general, birth parents retain some decision-making responsibilities and consent-granting abilities for their children until a court states otherwise. The local agency for social services, in many communities called the Department of Social Services, often has the legal ability to authorize medical treatment for and make legal decisions for children in foster care.
Most children in foster care come from families that have struggled to provide safe, nurturing, and loving home environments. They come from families that are often poor, have under-educated, single parents, and parents who have substance misuse problems or untreated mental health conditions. The home life is often chaotic, and medical and dental needs are often unmet.
The majority of the children in foster care are placed there by a social service agency because the child has been abused Overview of Child Neglect and Abuse Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (for example, clergy, coach, or teacher)... read more , neglected Overview of Child Neglect and Abuse Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (for example, clergy, coach, or teacher)... read more , or both. Most of the others are adolescents placed in care by the juvenile justice system. Very few children are placed voluntarily by their parents. Many children who might otherwise be placed into foster care are placed with extended family or friends, which is called "kinship care" and is usually not supervised by social service agencies. Adolescents may live in group homes or residential treatment facilities.
Did You Know...
Removal from their family is enormously painful to children. In foster care, children may have frequent visits with their families or only limited, supervised visits.
Children in foster care often leave behind their neighborhoods, communities, schools, and most of their belongings. Many children and adolescents in foster care feel anxious, uncertain, and helpless to control their lives. Many feel angry, rejected, and pained by the separation, or they develop a profound sense of loss. Some feel guilty, believing that they caused the disruption of their birth family. Peers often tease children about being in foster care, reinforcing perceptions that they are somehow different or unworthy.
Children in foster care have more chronic health problems and behavioral, emotional, and developmental problems than do other children. They are also less likely to receive appropriate medical or mental care for their problems. Yet, most children in foster care adjust well as long as the placement is stable and the foster family is skilled in nurturing the child's emotional needs. Many children in foster care are provided with counseling.
Over half of children in foster care eventually return to their birth families. Some children in foster care are eventually adopted Adoption Adoption is the legal process of adding a person to an existing family. All adoptions must be validated by a court of law. Adoption, unlike foster care, is meant to be permanent. The goal of... read more , most often by their foster family. Other children return to a relative or become too old for foster care. A small number of children are later transferred to another foster care agency if a placement does not work out or if the foster family is relocating to another area. Tragically, some youth in foster care eventually age out of the system without a sense of belonging to any family.
The following English-language resource may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of this resource.
National Foster Parent Association: A resource providing information for people who want to foster or adopt a child
Utunzaji wa watoto ni huduma inayotolewa kwa watoto ambao familia zao haziwezi kuwatunza kwa muda. Kuongozwa na sheria za shirikisho (za kitaifa), serikali za mitaa huamua mchakato wa kupanga utunzaji wa watoto. Wazazi wa kambo huchukua utunzaji wa kila siku wa mtoto lakini katika visa vingi hawana mamlaka ya kisheria ya kuidhinisha matibabu. Ingawa maelezo hutofautiana kulingana na jimbo, kwa ujumla, wazazi wa kuzaliwa wanahifadhi baadhi ya majukumu ya kufanya maamuzi na uwezo wa kutoa idhini kwa watoto wao mpaka mahakama itakaposema vinginevyo. "Wakala wa huduma za kijamii wa eneo hilo, katika jamii nyingi huitwa ""Idara ya Huduma za Jamii,"" mara nyingi huwa na uwezo wa kisheria wa kuidhinisha matibabu ya matibabu na kufanya maamuzi ya kisheria kwa watoto katika huduma ya utunzaji." Watoto wengi walio katika makao ya kuwatunza wanatoka katika familia ambazo zimepambana ili kuwapa mazingira salama, yenye kulea, na yenye upendo nyumbani. Wao hutoka katika familia ambazo mara nyingi ni maskini, na wazazi wasio na elimu, na wazazi ambao wana matatizo ya matumizi mabaya ya dawa za kulevya au hali za afya ya akili zisizotibiwa. Mara nyingi maisha ya nyumbani huwa magumu, na mara nyingi mahitaji ya kitiba na ya meno hayatoshelezi. "Kutumia vibaya watoto ni aina zote za unyanyasaji na uzembe wa mtoto chini ya umri wa miaka 18 na mzazi, mlinzi, au mtu mwingine katika jukumu la utunzaji (kwa mfano, kasisi, kocha, au mwalimu) "" (Chapter 8a, sura ya 8)." Wengi wa wengine ni matineja waliowekwa katika utunzaji na mfumo wa haki za vijana. Ni watoto wachache sana wanaowekwa na wazazi wao kwa hiari. Watoto wengi ambao huenda wakawekwa katika familia za kuwatunza watoto, huwekwa na familia kubwa au marafiki, ambayo inaitwa "utunzaji wa jamaa" na kwa kawaida haifanyiwi uangalizi na mashirika ya huduma za kijamii. Vijana wanaweza kuishi katika nyumba za kikundi au vituo vya matibabu ya makazi. Je, Ulijua... Kuondolewa kwa familia yao ni jambo lenye kuumiza sana kwa watoto. Katika utunzaji wa watoto, watoto wanaweza kuwa na ziara za mara kwa mara na familia zao au ziara ndogo tu, zinazodhibitiwa. Mara nyingi watoto walio katika makao ya kuwatunza wazazi wa kambo huacha majirani zao, jumuiya zao, shule zao, na vitu vyao vingi. Watoto na matineja wengi walio katika makao ya kuwatunza wanahisi wasiwasi, kutokuwa na uhakika, na kutokuwa na uwezo wa kudhibiti maisha yao. Wengi huona hasira, kukataliwa, na uchungu kwa sababu ya kutengana, au wanapata hisia kubwa ya kupoteza. Wengine huhisi hatia, wakiamini kwamba wao ndio waliosababisha kuvunjika kwa familia yao ya kuzaliwa. Mara nyingi, marafiki huwatesa watoto kwa sababu ya kuwa katika familia ya kuwatunza, na hivyo kuimarisha maoni ya kwamba kwa njia fulani wao ni tofauti au hawana thamani. Watoto walio katika makao ya kuwatunza wana matatizo zaidi ya afya ya kudumu na matatizo ya tabia, ya kihisia-moyo, na ya ukuzi kuliko watoto wengine. Pia, ni vigumu kwao kupata matibabu au matibabu ya akili yanayostahili kwa sababu ya matatizo yao. Hata hivyo, watoto wengi katika makao ya utunzaji hujipatanisha vizuri maadamu mahali pa kuwekwa kwao ni pa kudumu na familia ya utunzaji ina ustadi wa kutunza mahitaji ya kihisia ya mtoto. Watoto wengi walio katika makao ya utunzaji hupatiwa ushauri. Zaidi ya nusu ya watoto walio katika makao ya utunzaji hatimaye hurudi kwa familia zao za kuzaliwa. Watoto waliopelekwa kwa wazazi wa kambo huchukuliwa kuwa watoto wa kambo, na kuachiliwa kwa watoto wa kambo ni mchakato wa kisheria wa kuongeza mtu kwa familia iliyopo. Uasilishaji wote lazima uhakikishwe na mahakama. Kupitishwa, tofauti na utunzaji wa kambo, kunakusudiwa kuwa kwa kudumu. Lengo la... kusoma zaidi, mara nyingi na familia yao ya kulea. Watoto wengine hurudi kwa mtu wa ukoo au wanakuwa wazee sana hivi kwamba hawawezi kuwekwa katika familia ya kuwatunza. Watoto wengi wachache hupelekwa kwa wakulima wengine wa kambo ikiwa nafasi haifanyi kazi au ikiwa familia ya kambo inahamia eneo lingine. Kwa kusikitisha, vijana fulani walio katika makao ya kuwatunza hatimaye huzeeka na kuondoka katika mfumo huo bila kuhisi kwamba wanahusiana na familia yoyote. Rasilimali ifuatayo ya Kiingereza yaweza kuwa yenye manufaa. Tafadhali kumbuka kwamba Mwongozo si wajibu kwa maudhui ya rasilimali hii. National Foster Parent Association: Rasilimali inayotoa habari kwa watu ambao wanataka kumlea au kupitisha mtoto