1 R Children abused in Oklahoma foster homes Christina Choate South University Eng1100: Composition 1 David Layton Oct 27, 2020 2 Children abused in Oklahoma foster homes While DHS officials said they would strongly dispute any claim that the state has not made good faith efforts to improve the state's child welfare system, however, there are nearly 428,000 children in foster care in the United States. Out of the 428,000 children in foster care in the United States, 8,631 of those cases are currently in Oklahoma. Most Americans do not trouble themselves with issues that do not directly concern themselves or their families; it is this narrow minded blindness that has led to so many problems and issues in our country. One out of eight children in a massive review of Oklahoma foster care cases has suffered confirmed abuse or neglect in the custody of the State Department of Human Services , according to a new report on the findings of a study that was conducted by independent child welfare experts released by the national advocacy group Children’s Rights and local counsel. Could you imagine how it feels to be ripped out of the only place that you know as home? To get no explanation of why your parents simply did not want you anymore. Not a lot of people think about this. Usually, the only people that think about this are children that are experiencing or have experienced this problem. The children’s rights website said that, “On any given day, there are nearly 428,000 children in foster care in the United States." All those children have to be reminded daily that the foster care system has a lot of problems in it. Most of these children are put in some of the most unbearable situations including having to endure abuse and neglect inside of the foster care system. That means on top of the abuse that they endured at the hands of their biological families, they are also abused at the hands of those who were supposed to be their saving grace. Furthermore, according to a new child maltreatment report released by the federal government, more foster parents were abusing or neglecting foster children in Oklahoma in 2015 3 than any other state in the United States. The Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted a study confirming 150 cases of children that were abused or neglected by Oklahoma foster parents in 2015. That is 121 more than Texas, which also has more than seven times as many people. That is also 34 more abuse cases than California, which has 10 times as many people. A high number of abuse and neglect cases were also reported from children that were placed in Oklahoma's group homes and residential facilities. The study also found that Oklahoma requires more frequent house visits by welfare workers than most states, which makes it more likely that they will detect abuse and neglect when it occurs. One out of eight children in a massive review of Oklahoma foster care cases has suffered confirmed abuse or neglect in the custody of the State Department of Human Services. Additionally, on top of the alarmingly high number of abuse and neglect cases that were reported, the findings of the study also found that The Department of Human Services also routinely shuffles children between foster placements at extremely high rates with nearly 55 percent of the children in the study experiencing four or more different placements during their most recent stay in Oklahoma foster care. Of those children, 14 percent had 10 or more placements in their last stay in foster care. Most people get lucky with the parents that love and care for them, but sadly there are those unfortunate with the ones who do not want them, or do not care for them. For foster kids, they go through several houses with several different families. Sometimes these families are not the ideal family, and there is abuse and neglect in these homes. Foster kids never really get a break until they are adopted by a loving family. However, they usually are more unfortunate than lucky. There are more than 26,000 children who age out of foster care nationally each year without being adopted or reunited with their biological families. Out of that 26,000 one out of five will become homeless after age 18. One in four will be 4 involved in the justice system within two years of leaving the foster care system. Only 58 percent will graduate high school and fewer than 3 percent will earn a college degree by age 25 To conclude, even though DHS officials said they would strongly dispute any claim that the state has not made good faith efforts to improve the state's child welfare system, there is a growing problem in the foster care system that currently stands in the United States. Systems that are supposed to be saving these children are, in many cases, putting them into more dangerous situations. All across America there are foster homes being exposed for being abusive and taking advantage of these kids. But has anyone ever bothered to ask what happens to these kids after their eighteenth birthday? The answer is a cold and scary fact. After having endured a hard and terrible childhood consisting of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of many people whether it was with their biological families or the many different foster homes they were placed in, which also caused a lot of psychological issues , most will go untreated, they are given a check worth a small amount of money, a couple hundred dollars in the state of Oklahoma, and then turned out into the streets to fend for themselves and start their own lives. It’s a sad fact but the children who were in the custody of the state, really do become the forgotten. I hope one day the foster care system will be fixed, but I feel that sadly it will be no time soon. 5 References MALTREATMENT IN FOSTER CARE REMAINS SERIOUS PROBLEM IN OKLAHOMA, ACCORDING TO COURT MONITORS (1.2.18) - A Better Childhood MALTREATMENT IN FOSTER CARE REMAINS SERIOUS PROBLEM IN OKLAHOMA, ACCORDING TO COURT MONITORS (1.2.18) - A Better Childhood. (2019). Retrieved 27 October 2020, from http://www.abetterchildhood.org/maltreatmentin-foster-care-remains-serious-problem-in-oklahoma-according-to-court-monitors/ Pinnacle Plan - Oklahoma Policy Institute Pinnacle Plan - Oklahoma Policy Institute. (2020). Retrieved 27 October 2020, from https://okpolicy.org/pinnacle-plan/ Reforming the child welfare system: A progress report - Oklahoma Policy Institute Reforming the child welfare system: A progress report - Oklahoma Policy Institute. (2013). Retrieved 27 October 2020, from https://okpolicy.org/reforming-the-child-welfare-systema-progress-report/ 6 Systems, F. and Adoption, T. Systems, F., & Adoption, T. (2020). Foster Care Statistics - Child Welfare Information Gateway. Retrieved 28 October 2020, from https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/statistics/foster-care/ https://oklahoman.com/article/5537580/report-shows-high-degree-of-abuse-by-fosterparents-in-oklahoma https://onehopeunited.org/category/florida/page/2/ dent and CEO of One Hope United. “Protecting children sets them on a path toward a successful adulthood and creates healthy, prosperous communities. “ Child abuse and neglect is a serious concern in the United States. The Children’s Bureau within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports: — More than 2 million allegations of child abuse or neglect were investigated by child protective services agencies in the United States in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2011. — The highest https://onehopeunited.org/category/florida/page/2/ Alone at 18: Aging Out of the Foster System - MetroFamily Magazine Alone at 18: Aging Out of the Foster System - MetroFamily Magazine. (2015). Retrieved 28 October 2020, from https://www.metrofamilymagazine.com/alone-at-18-aging-out-of-thefoster-system/
