Abused Children in Foster Care

A significant number of children enter foster care abused. In some instances, the abuse continues after the child is placed in care. Social services and mental health professionals must be prepared to take a proactive approach to intervention and treatment for abused children in foster care. Today's families in crisis are burdened by a host of acute societal problems including poverty, drugs, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. The helping professions have an obligation to ensure the safety of children in the care system.

An understanding of the needs of abused children in foster care is basic to the provision of treatment and intervention. Psychiatric disorders are prevalent among such children. A study in London of adolescents in residential units and living with foster care families found the rate of psychiatric disorders among this group (65 percent) much higher than the rate of psychiatric disorders among the general adolescent population (15 percent). The range of psychiatric problems among the adolescents in the care system included conduct disorder, overanxiety, depression, and unspecified functional psychosis. The authors of the study concluded that these adolescents could be helped with the right type of treatment and intervention: "One of the most worrying findings was that a significant number of adolescents were suffering from severe, potentially treatable psychiatric disorders which had gone undetected" (McCann et al., 1996, p. 1529)

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roblems. Standards for kinship care are not as stringent as those for licensed care providers, which has led to some tragic situations. Licensed foster care is almost always preferable to the home environment of children who have been abused or neglected. Yet, because of the wide variation in foster care environments, studies have not been able to ascertain the degree of improvement. Problems in the child's family environment often include a history of substance abuse, mental illness, and family conflict. Family conflict is likely to manifest between parents and between the child and parents. Ongoing parental problems related to substance abuse and poverty lead to rejection of the child, temporary separation from the primary caregiver, and chaotic physical surroundings. A study by Wald, Carlsmith, and Leiderman (1988) found that foster children were almost always better off in their new placements because of the relative stability of the foster care environment, improved physical surroundings, and the engagement of the child in family activities: "In summary, it appears that the foster homes provided a setting with more structure and fewer extremes" (p. 90). An abused child generally thrives in a foster care environmen

Category: Psychology - A