My Senior Capstone class has been tasked with creating a communication lesson for a camp for kids in foster care to teach them important verbal and nonverbal communication skills that will benefit them as an adult when they age out of foster care. Our professor split us up into groups, with one group being in charge of generating funds/donations for foster care facilities, another group designing the communication curriculum, and a third group being in charge of creating a training video for camp counselors to teach them about the background of foster kids and how to interact with them. Through all of the research I have done for this project, I discovered how important it is to raise awareness about foster care and give insight into the lives of the kids affected by the system.
Foster children often come from families plagued by abuse, poverty, dysfunction, and neglect. Because of their unfortunate circumstances, the government takes ownership of foster children, placing them in the hands of outside caregivers. However, foster care does not prevent youth from being socioeconomically disadvantaged or absolve them from facing the challenges related to transitioning from care into adulthood. The main goal of foster care is to provide foster children with a safe and long-term family. This can be accomplished through reunification with their biological family or through adoption, legal guardianship, or care from a relative. Because of the absence in normal social supports that non-foster children have from their biological family, foster youth are at an increased risk of vulnerability when entering the adult world.
According to findings from a national survey on supporting youth transitioning from foster care, only 58% of foster youth graduate high school by age 19 and less than 3% earn a college degree by age 25. At 26, 46% of former foster children are employed compared to 80% of 26-year-olds in the general population. Foster children need a caring and competent mentor in their lives who can assist them in their transition into adulthood. Self-efficacy is essential for helping young people to learn how to plan, solve problems, and feel competent on their own. Because many foster youths struggle to find employment after aging out of the system and face barriers to higher education, they need to know all of their options and how to go about pursuing them as a young adult.
However, despite the needs of foster children, most youth would rather services be offered to rehabilitate broken families as a first response instead of immediately placing youth into foster care, which is traumatic and emotionally damaging for them. Being taken away from everything you have ever known and being forced to live with strangers is terrifying. The lack of control in their lives causes foster children to experience constant insecurity and foster children are more likely to suffer from PTSD than combat veterans.
At the end of the day, foster children are good kids who come from horrible circumstances, resulting in emotional/behavioral issues and a tough exterior. All they need is a caring adult to take an interest in their lives and support them. Whether you choose to adopt a child in foster care or simply donate to a local foster home, know that these individuals have value and deserve the chance to accomplish great things in this world, just like everyone else.
