Foster Care in America: A Reference Handbook

by Christina G. Villegas

Overview

America's foster care system has a noble goal—to care for children that for various reasons can no longer be cared for by their families—but years of inattention and inadequate funding have left many foster youth in a precarious state.

This resource provides a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the American foster care system. Areas of coverage include the scaffolding of foster care systems in the various states (each of which operate their own unique systems through their social service agencies); conditions under which children are taken out of their families of origin and placed in foster care; the experiences of both young children and older teens in foster homes; challenges for foster children who "age out" of the system; and proposals to reform and improve foster care across the nation.

Geared for students, this book contains chapters devoted to the background and history of foster care in America; the systems's problems, controversies, and solutions; original essay contributions exploring various facets of the system; profiles of leading foster care activists and organizations; governmental data and excerpts of primary documents on the topic; and an annotated list of important books, scholarly jourbanals, and nonprint sources for further research. It closes with a detailed chronology, glossary of terms, and subject index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440874291
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/18/2022
Series:	Contemporary World Issues
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Christina G. Villegas, PhD, is associate professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino.

Table of Contents

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xix

1 Background and History 3

Introduction 3

Overview of Current System 3

Reporting and Investigation of Abuse 5

Substantiated Cases of Abuse and Neglect 6

Forms of Placement 9

Kinship Care 9

Nonrelative Foster Parent(s) 10

Congregate Care 10

Historical Foundations of Foster Care in America 11

The Evolution of Federal Policy 15

The Social Security Act of 1935 15

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 17

The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 18

The Influence of Cultural Heritage, Race, and Ethnicity on Child Welfare Policy 20

The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 21

The Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and Interethnic Provisions of 1996 21

Challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act 23

Permanency Planning and Child Welfare Policy 24

Increased Focus on Aging Out 27

Prevention, Family Preservation, and Promoting Family versus Institutional Care 29

Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America's Children 31

Conclusion 32

References 33

2 Problems, Controversies, and Solutions 39

Introduction 39

Aging Out of Foster Care 40

Foster Care Runaways 42

Placement Instability, Delayed Permanency, and Other System Failures 43

Restrictions on Congregate Care 48

Ensuring Protection and Permanency for Native American Children 51

Racial Disparities in Child Welfare 55

Addressing Racial Bias in the Foster Care System 57

Do Racial Disparities in Child Welfare Cause Pervasive Harm? 62

The Question of Kinship Care 64

Recruiting and Retaining Foster and Adoptive Families 67

LGBTQ Rights and Religious Exemptions 71

Increased Focus on Older Youth 74

COVID-19 and Child Welfare Challenges and Opportunities 75

Conclusion 78

References 80

3 Perspectives 93

Introduction 93

Changing Laws, Changing Lives Darcy Olsen 94

Combating "Stereotype Threat" among Foster Youth Tori Petersen 97

My Life in Foster Care Jaymie Gonzales 100

Improving Trauma-Informed Treatment of Foster Children Terri Galindo 104

Faith-Based Agencies and Communities Are Essential in Child Welfare Work Natalie Goodnow 111

Fostering amid the Opioid Crisis: My Family's Story Vienna Scott 119

They Call Me Mom Diana Hayes 122

4 Profiles 131

Introduction 131

AdoptUSKids 131

Aging Out Institute 132

Annie E. Casey Foundation 133

Better Together 134

The CALL 135

Casey Family Programs 135

Center for State Child Welfare Data 136

CHAMPS 137

Child Welfare League of America 137

Children's Bureau 138

Children's Rights 139

Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute 140

Court Appointed Special Advocates 141

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption 142

DC Family and Youth Initiative 143

FaithBridge 144

Family and Youth Law Center 144

Family Equality 145

Foster America 146

Foster Care Alumni of America 147

Foster Care to Success 148

FosterClub 148

Fostering Court Improvement 150

4KIDS, Inc., 150

Gen Justice 152

Healthy Foster Care America 153

Heart Gallery 154

iFoster 154

Isaiah 117 House 156

Love Fosters Hope 156

Mayfly Project 157

Monument Academy 158

Multi-System Trauma-Informed Collaborative 159

National Foster Parent Association 160

Native American Youth and Family Center 161

One Church One Child 162

One Simple Wish 163

Project 1.27 164

Safe Families for Children 164

Safe Haven Services 165

Utah Youth Village 166

5 Data and Documents 169

Introduction 169

Data 170

Figure 5.1 Number of Children in Foster Care, Fiscal Years 2015-2019 170

Figure 5.2 Number of Children in Foster Care on September 30, 2019, by Sex and by Race/ Ethnicity 171

Figure 5.3 Race and Ethnicity of Children Entering Foster Care in FY 2008 and FY 2018 171

Figure 5.4 Circumstances Associated with Child's Removal for Children Entering Foster Care, FY 2019 172

Figure 5.5 Children Exiting Foster Care during FY 2019 Broken Down by Reason for Discharge 173

Figure 5.6 Youth Outcomes Reported at Ages 17, 19, and 21 173

Documents 175

President Ronald Reagan's Presidential Proclamation for National Foster Care Month (1988) 175

Senator John H. Chafee's Remarks in Defense of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (1997) 177

Testimony of Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (2007) 181

Testimony of Former Foster Youth Dawna Zender Hovenier and Celebrity Psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw on the Overmedication of Youth in Foster Care (2014) 190

Dr. William C. Bell's Testimony on the Importance of Fathers in Reducing the Need for Foster Care (2019) 198

Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, Petition for Writ of Certiorari and City Respondents Brief in Opposition (2019) (Excerpts) 207

Donald Trump's Executive Order on Strengthening the Child Welfare System (2020) 221

6 Resources 231

Introduction 231

Books 231

Articles and Reports 236

Journals, Magazines, and Online Forums 246

Nonprint Sources 252

7 Chronology 257

Glossary 271

Index 283

Editorial Reviews

Worth strong consideration by both public and academic libraries.” —Library Jourbanal

From the Publisher

07/01/2022

Hotly debated topics benefit from discussion in edited reference works that offer both facts and perspectives on the topic from multiple voices and viewpoints. This book edited by Villegas (political science, California State Univ.) is happily no outlier in that regard, though it does stand out for its level of detail, compared to narrative nonfiction works on foster care. An introduction includes an overview of the current U.S. foster care system and its history, structure, and policies. This is followed by probably the most useful—and arguably most controversial—section, "Problems, Controversies, and Solutions," which addresses issues such as children who run away, racial bias in the foster care system, LGBTQ+ rights and religious exemptions, and the challenges introduced by COVID. The preceding is all by Villegas; in the next section, there are texts by foster parents and adults who grew up in foster care (who discuss their own experiences of the system) and by social workers and other professionals (Terri Galindo of the 4Kids organization, writing about trauma-informed care; Darcy Olsen of Gen Justice, on foster care legislation). Profiles of secular and religious foster organizations follow, as well as a valuable "Data and Documents" section. VERDICT Worth strong consideration by both public and academic libraries.—Henrietta Verma

Library Journal