This report describes the results of a survey on the foster care system. Between April 22nd and 23rd of 2019, I surveyed 63 random people on their thoughts about the services of the foster care system. I had divided the survey into two groups, being 30 teenagers, ranging from 13-17 years old and 30 adults, ranging over 18. About 71.2% believe that the foster care system is beneficial to foster children, 10.6% do not believe that the foster care system is beneficial to foster children, and 18.2% don’t have an opinion on whether or not it is beneficial to foster children. When asked about the number of children being placed in the foster care system, about 68.2% chose the right number, which is 443,000, and 31.8 chose the wrong ones. Approximately 86.4% have neither fostered nor adopted children, 3% have adopted, 3% have fostered, 1% have both adopted and fostered, and 6.1% are considering to either foster or adopt children. When asked if there is a correlation between foster children and homelessness, 37.9% had answered ‘Yes’, 12.1% had answered ‘No’, and 50% had answered ‘Maybe’.
Here are some of the responses when asked if any changes could be done to the foster care system.
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3.03% suggested to try to eliminate commercialization of these children.
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19.7% suggested to possibly help foster care children to get into good homes with screen and background checks and make the qualifications more strict for foster parents.
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53.03% suggested none.
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7.57% suggested for more social workers to be hired so that children get the placement in foster homes as early as possible and to ensure proper monitoring of the children’s welfare within the foster system and consistent following up on them.
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6.06% suggested to elongate the system and provide proper support even after they have turned into adults.
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3.03% suggested to reduce the number of admissions and increase the number of foster homes.
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4.54% suggested to let the voice of the children speak, as they would have certain views on how their life would like to be.
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10.6% suggested foster parents to treat the children as their own and if they are mistreated, foster parents should be held accountable for the child’s development.
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3.03% suggested that the foster care system should establish a relationship with the child before sending them to foster homes so they are comfortable telling when about any problems they have with their foster family.
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3.03% suggested that the foster system should first be offered to the immediate relatives of the children.
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3.03% suggested to create awareness.
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3.03% suggested to make the adoption process simpler.
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3.03% suggested new parent guidance and classes.
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Although majority of them selected none, some of them state that they didn’t have much knowledge of the foster care system, so I believe that awareness should be created in reference to the foster care system and its impact on children.
Below is a graph summarizing the responses of the population.
I have had the honor to interview with a former foster youth, Stephanie Prince and she has examined the struggles and challenges she's faced, being a foster child.
