...Reactive Attachment Disorder in Children and Adolescents in Institutionalized and in Foster Care, and Adoptive Families Lisa W. Marshall Liberty University Abstract It is believed children exposed to early institutional rearing are at risk for developing psychopathology (McGoron, et. al., 2012). Comparisons were made to discover if Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) was more prevalent in children raised institutions, foster care or adoptive families. Measurements included the Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment, Strange Situation Procedure, Disturbances of Attachment Interview, and the Preschool Aged Psychiatric Assessment (Smyke, et. al. 2012), the Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Screening Interview (Cone, et. al., 2009) in addition to the Reactive Affective Disorder Checklist (RAD-C) and the Relationships Problem Questionnaire (RPQ), in the diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder (Thrall, et al., 2009). These measurements were not only utilized to discover the existence of RAD, but to test the validity of the methods. Additionally, treatment studies including holding, narrative therapy, parenting skills training, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, psychodrama, and/or neurofeedback (Wimmer, et. al.,2009) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (Cone, et. al.,2009) are examined. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) lists Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) as a serious, directly linked...
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...The Impact of Foster Care on Child Development Demeka F. Gaddy Liberty University Abstract The foster care system was designed to provide a safe temporary placement for children who can no longer stay in the care of their parents or guardian. The overall goal of foster care is for the children to return home to their caregiver. If the caregiver fails to regain custody the child is placed in other living arrangements, to include foster homes. However there is a controversy over the effectiveness of the foster care system in regards to child development. Foster care has been linked to negative impacts in child development to include; physical and sexual abuse, attachment disorders, and behavioral problems that eventually lead to children being placed in multiple placements and in some cases the juvenile justice system,. Children who are in foster care are a vulnerable group due to the being removed from their home, in some cases abruptly. It has been proven that the longer children living in foster care are subject to negative development more than children who do not live in foster care. Based on these factors the foster care system needs to focus more on the needs of the child so that positive development can occur. Keywords: child welfare, abuse, child development The Negative Impacts of Foster Care on Child Development The foster care system was designed to provide a safety net for children and families and to reunite children with their biological parents if possible...
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...Foster care is an arrangement where a minor is placed under the care of a group home, ward or private home that has been certified by the government. There have been concerns that foster care services has inadequately delivered a high-quality of care for minors, and after so much criticism society has questioned the future reliability of foster care services. Much criticism has been directed toward the inadequacy of key requirements which has in turn undermined the success of foster care. The foster care system has been facing problems relating to finances, little or no training to the care givers, and inadequate access to respite are (Reinhard, Gien, Petlick, & Bemis, 2008). In addition, the children under this care achieve little in their education and development is below average. The aim of this paper is to analyze the inadequacies facing the foster care system, the effect these inadequacies have on children and adolescents in foster care, and theories coined for explaining these problems....
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...Trauma-Informed Practices Within Foster Care Marya Feldt Washburn University Trauma-Informed Practices Within Foster Care Adolescents within the foster care system have experienced reportedly more traumatic events than the average person. These adverse experiences may be the result of poor family environments, sexual, physical, or psychological abuse which could lead to the placement of children in the foster care system. However, often traumatic experiences do not end with the placement of an adolescent into a new home. Adolescents face numerous stressors when placed in foster care, including fear of separation from siblings, friends, communities and confusion about the future (Conradi et al., 2011). Trauma experienced...
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...Improving Academic Performance and Achievement of children and youth in foster care Joanna Bermudez Mercy College Summer 2013 Introduction and Problem Statement Approximately fifty percent of adolescents in this country’s foster care system are graduating from high school each year. In NYS, less than forty-four percent of adolescent’s in the foster care system graduate from high school yearly. The outcomes of youth who leave the foster care system between the ages of 18 and 21 are statistically grim; less than 50% of these youth are equipped with a high school diploma (Scannapeieco, Connel-Carrick, and Pinter, 2007), and with-in two years of leaving the system, 25% of them face unemployment, homelessness, and/or incarceration (Krinsky, 2007). For all children, especially children in foster care, having the proper advocacy, stability, educational coordination and guidance are vital in ensuring their academic success. Unfortunately, children in foster care are less likely to receive these components to assist them in becoming successful in academia, which in turn affects their chances to live a productive adult life. The needs of the children and youth in foster care are in need of reformation across each state throughout the nation. Since the development of foster care, the focus of intervention has and continues to be a reactive approach, instead of a tactical approach. The intervention of foster care seeks to ensure the physical safety and well-being of each child and...
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...Introduction On November 2007, The Oregonian began an investigation on children in foster care that had been prescribed powerful psychiatric medications. These medications were given four times the rate of other children. Concerns have been on the rise for children that are given “psychotropic medications”. Primarily the concern is high for those children in foster care, and who receive Medicaid, because they are in a system that has lost structure of the importance of the health and welfare of children and adolescence. Also because foster children are more likely to have more emotional and social issues, and need treatment to include psychiatric medication. Psychotropic medications are those that affect the nervous system and produce many changes in behavior or awareness. These medications can be given in the form of a tranquilizer, sedative or antidepressant. Changes should be made to prevent how children receive medications, to deter overdosing and complications from misdiagnosing the child’s illness. The effect that psychiatric drugs have on children can be sometimes upsetting. Psychiatric or psychotropic medications are used to help children with behavioral impairment. Changes should be made that will benefit children in situations as mentioned. Not only in foster care but any child that is prescribed psychiatric (psychotropic) medications. Implementing change that will assure children are prescribe the right mediations, and are given the medication according to their...
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...Foster Care in the United States Sue King Liberty University Abstract The history of foster care in the United States started with orphan trains and the Children’s Aid Society founded by Charles Loring Brace. Recent research describes the child welfare system as an organization that provides service to helpless children in need. This paper will discuss foster care as it is relates to safety, permanency, and wellbeing of children in need The role of a foster parent and the process of loss, and grief after a child leave their biological parents will be discussed. Research suggests that Courts has the final decision whether a child will stay in foster care or return home. This paper will describe the developmental impact that foster care has on children after losing their biological family. There are several risk factors associated with poverty. This paper will discuss the significance of children reuniting with their biological parents and/or being adopted for permanency. Empirical evidence from recent research confirmed that hard times during childhood was related to health problems later in life. Foster care reform, educational outcomes, economic incentives for adoption, mentors and home visitation programs should be implemented to improve the foster care system. Keywords: foster care, developmental, health problems, orphan trains Foster Care in the United States The prevalence rate is high for foster care in the United States. The history...
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...the time of their initial arrest. This paper attempts to establish a clear definition of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as well as, neglect, while also reviewing a pattern of subsequent delinquency. The effects of racial, ethnic and gender differences in criminal behavior will be explored. A collaborated effort among youth serving agencies is discussed as a method of prevention of child maltreatment and future delinquency. CHILD MALTREATMENT & JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 3 Juvenile delinquency is a serious public health concern. Throughout literature, child and adolescent maltreatment are consistently identified as powerful predictors of juvenile and adult crime. In 2009, law enforcement agencies arrested approximately 1.9 million persons under the age of 18 “ (Ryan, Williams, & Courtney, 2013, p.454). There is a long tradition of studying parenting, child relationships and adolescent delinquency; however the association between parent-child relationships and criminal offending during young adulthood is less understood (Johnson, Giordano, Manning, & Longmore, 2011, p.786). It is important to understand the correlation between the two in an effort to help find ways to provide resources...
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...needs as perceived by youth as a gateway to other needed services. In addition to serving those already homeless, interventions are needed to prevent homelessness among at-risk youth. Lessons for Practitioners, Policy Makers, and Researchers • As used here, the term “homeless youth” focuses on minors who have experienced literal homelessness on their own—i.e., who have spent at least one night either in a shelter or "on the streets" without adult supervision. On occasion, where warranted by the research being discussed, the term is also used to describe homeless young adults up to age 24. • Homelessness among youth in the U.S. is disturbingly common. With an estimated annual prevalence of at least 5 percent for those ages 12 to 17, adolescents appear to be at greater risk for literal homelessness than adults. Although homeless youth appear throughout the nation, they are most visible in major cities. • Research on homeless youth has major limitations. Rigorous research on this special...
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...The Way We Are: How Much Credit or Blame Belongs to Our Parents PSY 304 December 22, 2014 The Way We Are: How Much Credit or Blame Belongs to Our Parents When it comes to parenting and raising our kids we all want them to grow up and be responsible productive adults that contribute positively to society. Unfortunately this is not always to case, the way we raise our kids can either lead them to be positive impact on the society or they could go down the other road and have a negative impact on society. So as parents we are either too blame or given credit for how our children turn out. The parenting style you choose can have a very important impact on how your child lives as an adult. Parents are their children’s most important role models, it is important for parental control in each step of our children’s life and education. As parents we are our children’s most valuable and important role models, what they learn from us will guide who they are as adults. When our children are small one way they learn how to do things is by watching what others are doing and modeling what they do, and how they behave, this is what developmental psychologist Albert Bandura call social cognitive theory. Children are so impressionable they will model a parent’s behavior good or bad. The parenting style you use when raising your kids could have a large impact on the way they turn out as adults. According to developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind there are four different parenting styles...
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...Children and adolescents in the foster care system are at a higher risk for psychopathology than other children in the general population in our country. In February of 2015, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced the bipartisan legislation to improve foster care services for thousands of vulnerable youth in America. This bill would improve health care and mental health services to children and young people in the foster care system to ensure that effective community-based options are available for them and their families. “Therapeutic foster care, often referred to as treatment foster care (TFC), is the evidenced-informed trauma-informed and highly effective placement of children and youth with serious medical,...
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...therapy. There is controversy over why the averages are increasing. One expert believes that doctors are pressured by insurance companies to diagnose while others believe it is due to the lack of therapists available in the field. How can we be positive this is the best line of treatment for our children? Mental health disorders diagnosed in children and adolescents include but are not limited to depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and eating disorders. The number of children taking antipsychotic medications has risen drastically in recent years. Drugs that were once limited to a diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are currently prescribed for a diagnosis of ADHD. Furthermore, the potential side effects, as well as, their effectiveness have not been proven in treating the disorders that they are currently prescribed for. A study shows that one in 70 preschoolers is diagnosed with a mental health disorder. In 2007, one half million children and adolescents were administered the minimum of one prescription for an antipsychotic, including children under the age of 6. Studies show that American children are the most medicated children in the world. They receive three times more prescriptions for antidepressants and stimulants. In addition, they receive approximately double the amount of antipsychotic drugs than...
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...Achievement of Foster Youth Farrah Mitchell Ashford University Chapter 1: Background Context Recent research has made clear that children in foster care represent one of the most vulnerable populations in public education. Though there have been few national studies studying the overall achievement of foster youth, various state and local investigations invariably reveal a picture of personal struggle, over- or under-identified disabilities, developmental delays, absenteeism, and chronic underperformance relative to peers who are not in foster care. In Washington state, foster children scored 15 to 20 percentile points below their peers on standardized state tests, were twice as likely to repeat a grade as their peers, and 27 percent less likely to complete high school in four years (Schubert, 2001). Lower test scores are sometimes ascribed to the high mobility of foster youth, which prevents them from studying for long with any single teacher. However, some differences in achievement test scores predate entry into foster care (National Working Group, 2011), indicating that past trauma, developmental delays, or disabilities maybe as or more responsible for the academic underachievement of foster youth as frequent displacement. Compared to the mainstream population, foster youth are much more likely to enter special education. Vacca (2008) found that “students in foster care also are enrolled in special education at three times the rate of non-foster students” (1083)...
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...Running head: THE FOSTER CARE AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE The Association Between Foster Care and Substance Abuse Risk Factors and Treatment Outcomes: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis Sharon H. Stoess Grand Canyon University NRS-433V March 27, 2011 The Association Between Foster Care and Substance Abuse Risk Factors and Treatment Outcomes: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis “The child welfare and substance abuse systems are integrally linked through the children and families they serve (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). There is a dearth of knowledge, however, on how children who have experienced foster care fare when they are treated for substance abuse issues as adults” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “In addition, the funds available for in-depth, comprehensive research in child welfare are limited” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “Data collected for one purpose can potentially be used to answer other questions” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “Secondary analysis involves the use of data gathered in a previous study to test new hypotheses or address new questions” (Polit & Beck, 2009, p. 295). “The issue, however, is that the original researchers may not have collected all the data needed to answer the current question” (Blome, W., Shields, J., & Verdieck, M., 2009). “This article presents an exploratory study using the Alcohol and Drug Services Study (ADSS) study set” (Blome,...
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...transmitted diseases, cancer, and obesity. This factsheet provides an overview of some of the most common physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences of child abuse and neglect, while acknowledging that much crossover among categories exists. Factors Affecting the Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect Physical Health Consequences Psychological Consequences Behavioral Consequences Societal Consequences Summary References The Federal Government has made a considerable investment in research regarding the causes and long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect. These efforts are ongoing; for more information, visit the websites listed below: LONGSCAN (Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect) is a consortium of longitudinal research studies on the causes and impact of child abuse and neglect, initiated in 1990 with grants from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. The size and...
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