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TOPIC: Nationally, 542,000 children are in foster care. Many of these children have prior histories of maltreatment such as abuse and neglect, with neglect being the most common form of maltreatment and the reason for many children requiring foster care services. Painful experiences associated with maltreatment and the trauma of being removed from one's parents (foster care) may affect the developmental and mental health of children.
PURPOSE: This paper synthesizes the experiences associated with foster care and reveals foster care outcomes obtained through a literature search of published research. Specifically, the notions of oppression and domination defined by Young (1990) experienced by children in foster are explored.
SOURCES: Review of the literature and clinical practice.
CONCULSIONS: Most children in foster care, if not all, experience feelings of confusion, fear, apprehension of the unknown, loss, sadness, anxiety, and stress. Such feelings and experiences must be addressed and treated early to prevent or decrease poor developmental and mental health outcomes that ultimately affect a child's educational experience and the quality of adulthood. Systemic orientation for all children entering foster care is proposed as a preventative intervention that addresses associated experiences of children in foster care.
Search terms: Alumni of foster care, foster care, foster care experiences, foster care interventions, foster care outcomes, foster care perceptions, mental health
In any given day, there are over half a million children in foster care in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [U.S. DHHS], 2007b). Children in foster care are a vulnerable population (Kools & Kennedy, 2003; Leslie et al., 2005; Vig, Chinitz, & Shulman, 2005). Traumatic experiences and an increased susceptibility for further wounds from unstable environments created in foster care continue to increase the vulnerability of this already fragile population (Jones Harden, 2004). The removal of a child from biological parents requires a substantiation of maltreatment (sexual, physical, or neglect), not just an exposure to it (Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, 2003). Maltreatment, such as neglect, and the removal from parents (foster care) are traumatic events that can affect the immediate and future developmental and mental health of children (Bowlby, 1998; Dozier, Albus, Fisher, & Sepulveda, 2002; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005; Schneider & Phares, 2005; Vig et al.)....