Trends in Age, Gender, and Ethnicity Among Children in Foster Care in Alaska

In Alaska, as in every other state, people who suspect children are being abused or neglected can contact the designated child protection agency. In Alaska, that agency is the Office of Children Services (OCS). It is responsible for investigating all reported incidents and determining the level of risk to the health, safety, and welfare of children. In a number of instances, children will be removed from their families and homes due to unsafe conditions, and they are often placed in foster care. 1 Being taken away from their families is of course traumatizing for children. The number of American children in foster care at any time, and the length of time they spend in foster care, has been closely watched over the last several decades. Several changes in policy and practice were introduced in the last 20 years, at national and state levels, to reduce both the number of children in foster care and the length of time they stay in foster care. These changes caused some dramatic trends at the national level: the number of children in foster care in the U.S. declined by almost a quarter (23.7%) between 2002 and 2012, with the decline being most pronounced among AfricanAmerican children (47.1%). As of 2012, African-American children made up 26% of all children in foster care nationwide, down from 37% a decade earlier. But during the same period, the proportion of children in foster care classified as belonging to two or more races almost doubled. And American Indian/Alaska Native children are the highest represented ethnic group among foster children—13 of every 1,000 American Indian/Alaska Native children in the U.S. were in foster care in 2012. In contrast, no such dramatic changes happened in Alaska in recent years. This paper reports on foster children in Alaska by age, gender, race, and region over the period 2006-2013. This information is important for state policymakers working to better protect abused and neglected children. At the end of the paper we discuss questions the data raise and describe additional data needed to better help children in foster care in Alaska. We compiled data for this analysis from monthly reports of key indicators on foster children in the state. OCS publishes monthly data on select indicators (Alaska State Statutes 2011, Monthly reports concerning children, AK. Stat. § 47.05.100), in PDF format on its website (http://dhss.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/statistics/default.aspx). Data presented here are snapshots in time and do not follow unique children over time.Introduction / Summary of findings / How many children are in foster care, and where are they from? / How old are the children in foster care? / Boys or girls: Who is more likely to be in foster care? / Are Alaska Native children over-represented among children in foster care? / Discussion / Limitations / Note on population of OCS regions / Acknowledgement

Web of Failure: The Relationship Between Foster Care and Homelessness

The purpose of this project is to examine the connection between foster care and homelessness and to determine whether or not there is an over-representation of people with a foster care history in the homeless population. In order to examine this issue, the project used four sources of information: (1) existing research on the connection between foster care and homelessness; (2) data collected from organizations which serve homeless people and which gather information on their clients' foster care history; (3) data obtained directly from a sample of homeless people; and (4) case studies of people who are or were homeless and who have a foster care history

Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Conditions of Youth at Age 19

The "CalYOUTH Wave 2 Youth Survey", conducted when the young people participating in CalYOUTH were 19 years old, follows up on a survey of the same young people when they were approaching the age of majority in California's foster care system. More than 80 percent of the youth who took part in the baseline interviews participated in the Wave 2 survey. The report provides the most comprehensive view to date of young adults making the transition to adulthood from foster care in California, highlighting differences between young people participating in extended foster care and young people who had left care. The report provides feedback for all parties interested in improving youth's transitions from foster care to adulthood

Features of non-kinship foster care children with birth family contact in Andalusia

The aim of the presentation is to describe the personal features of non-kinship foster care children who have visits with their birth family in Málaga, Granada and Jaén (provinces of Andalusia, Spain). This study was funded by the research project Application of a psychoeducational intervention program to improve visits between foster children and their biological families (Reference EDU2016 77094-P). SPSS v.21.0 was used to carry out the descriptive and frequency analysis of socio-demographic information collected by the Child File Summary Form designed for this study. There are 212 non-kinship foster care children who have visits with their birth family. Their mean age is 8.09 years old (SD= 4.73). The more frequent types of foster care are both long-term and short-term placement (30.7%, respectively), followed by specialized long-term foster care (20.3%), urgency placement (10.8%) and specialized short-term foster care (7.5%). The period of time they have been into the Child Protection System is on average 4.08 years (SD= 3.88) and into the current placement is on average 2.53 (SD= 2.95). Thus, 44.8% of foster children were in residential care and 30.2% were in previous foster care. The latter could have been with the current foster care family. Also, 41.0% of foster children were placed at least with one sibling. It is important to know the features of foster children in order to apply the main principle of “the best interests of the child” to the whole decision-making process about the child’s protection and welfare. In our project, these decisions concern foster care placement and birth family contact to maintain and strengthen family affective bonds and child’s identity formation. Our findings contribute to develop: (a) initiatives to improve children’s well-being; (b) support and social resources required by families; and (c) socio-educative tools for the social workers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Kinship Foster Care: A Relatively Permanent Solution

Kinship foster care is intended to provide substantially the same standard of care as children receive in placement with unrelated foster parents. In practice, however, the two differ enormously in New York City. Frequently, agencies place foster children in the homes of relatives with little regard for the adequacy of those homes. This Note evaluates the existing kinship foster care system, and examines the possibility of addressing the program\u27s problems by creating a new legislative category for kinship guardians

Relative Versus Non-Relative Foster Care:

This study explored the benefits and limitations of relative foster care versus non-relative foster care. This study hypothesized, that despite the limitations of relative placement, the emotional benefit to the child placed in a relative setting far outweighs the challenges of it. The methodology employed quantitative and qualitative measurements. An in-depth questionnaire survey was mailed to 150 relative and 150 non-relative providers; and a focus group was facilitated. The study revealed that relative foster care, when available, is superior to non-relative foster care because of the emotional and social connection present as a result of the pre-existing relationship between the foster child and relative provider. This study emphasizes current policy in place which states relative care is the preferred placement for children in out-of-home placements. This study also discussed the implications for social work practice, policy and research

Foster Parent Training for the Delivery of Independent Living Skills

Master's Project (M.Ed.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013Although training is made available to foster parents when they volunteer to share their homes with children in need, the required ten hours for single parents and fifteen hours for coupled parents does not provide enough training for foster parents who are working with youth preparing for independent living to give them the skills they need to succeed. There are many programs designed for youth, but fewer programs are readily available in Fairbanks, Alaska to teach foster parents how to deliver the skills to the youth. Youth leaving foster care continue to have lower outcomes in education, employment, housing, and fiscal management after exiting foster care than children who were raised in traditional homes. The outcome of this literature review is a pamphlet that will assist agencies in educating the parents of foster youth aging out of the foster care system. It will also provide quick access to resources and learning centers that offer training opportunities for foster parents working with youth preparing for independent living

Foster Care in California: Achievements and Challenges

Examines changes in California's foster care policies, processes, and practices; progress since 2000 in reducing the number of children in foster care; contributing factors; and remaining challenges, including issues of payments and aging out

Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States

Discussion and debate about adoption and foster care by gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) parents occurs frequently among child welfare policymakers, social service agencies, and social workers. They all need better information about GLB adoptive and foster parents and their children as they make individual and policy-level decisions about placement of children with GLB parents. This report provides new information on GLB adoption and foster care from the U.S. Census 2000, the National Survey of Family Growth (2002), and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (2004)

Relative Versus Non-Relative Foster Care:

This study explored the benefits and limitations of relative foster care versus non-relative foster care. This study hypothesized, that despite the limitations of relative placement, the emotional benefit to the child placed in a relative setting far outweighs the challenges of it. The methodology employed quantitative and qualitative measurements. An in-depth questionnaire survey was mailed to 150 relative and 150 non-relative providers; and a focus group was facilitated. The study revealed that relative foster care, when available, is superior to non-relative foster care because of the emotional and social connection present as a result of the pre-existing relationship between the foster child and relative provider. This study emphasizes current policy in place which states relative care is the preferred placement for children in out-of-home placements. This study also discussed the implications for social work practice, policy and research