User:801johnna/Foster care in the United States

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''' California has the largest population of foster care youth in the nation, with 55,218 children in the system as of 2012. '''

California
''With over 60,000 children in foster care in California, the state holds the largest population of foster youth causing overcrowding in group homes, high caseloads for case workers, and disparities in outcomes for children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.  ' California has the largest population of foster care youth in the nation, with 55,218 children in the system as of 2012. ''' This is over twice as many as the 20,529 foster children in New York, the state with the second largest population of foster youth, had by the end of 2012. Over 30 percent of California foster youth reside in Los Angeles County, amounting to 18,523 children.

''Frequent placement changes, lack of supportive relationships, abuse, and neglect within the foster care system all contribute to problematic outcomes such as low school attendance, negative health impacts, and low school and college graduation rates. Foster care youth are at significantly higher risk of experiencing homelessness. '' After "aging out" of the system at age 18, research has shown that previous foster youth still face difficult instability in their lives. As much as 30 percent of previous foster children are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Only about 50 percent graduate from high school and less than 10 percent graduate from college.

Even after being placed in the foster care system, however, these children might not find the kind of care or stability they need. Girls in foster care have been shown to have marginally higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the general population of California. Children in foster care also have to face disproportionately higher rates of mental illnesses as some studies have shown that as much as 47.9 percent of foster care youth showed signs of serious emotional or behavioral issues. A study focused on foster care alumni in Los Angeles County showed that about 65 percent leave foster care without a place to live and 25 percent are incarcerated by age 20. Despite these difficulties, California is working toward easing the transition for foster youth through programs and legislation like the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010, which expanded upon similar federal legislation and increased the age limit for receiving foster care benefits from 18 to 21.

Entering foster care in California
Children can be removed from their homes and placed into the foster care system for a variety of reasons, but in California, 81.2 percent of children were removed because of neglect. In California, sixteen risk factors determine removal. ''Caregiver arrest history (not convictions), caregivers' parent's history with the child welfare system, caregivers' mental health history, prior abuse and neglect investigations, alleged abuse or neglect, current or past open cases in the child welfare system, prior physical injury from abuse or neglect or substantiated physical abuse are the first eight factors. When abuse is involved in these factors, more points are added in assessing risks of abuse versus neglect. The next four factors focus on the home environment, asking if the housing is unsafe or whether the caregiver and child are homeless, whether domestic violence between caregiver and partner is present, what the primary disciplinary practices of the caregiver are, and does the caregiver use or have a history with substance use. The remaining factors used to determine risk are the number of children involved (more children, more risk), the age of the youngest child (higher risk for children under two years old), and any medical, developmental, or mental health disabilities that will add weight toward removal. Meeting five risk factors may trigger the opening of a case by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in dependency court, initiating legal proceedings to address concerns regarding the safety and welfare of the children involved. Social workers exercise discretion in assessing the unique circumstances of each case and determining appropriate interventions considering factors such as family dynamics, risk levels, and available support services.''

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''There is debate surrounding how children enter foster care. Martin Guggenheim argues that "providing children with strong legal representation furthers the state's interests in ways that are not advanced when parents are presented equally well." At the Juvenile Rights Division of New York City's Legal Aid Society, Martin Guggenheim represented children in child welfare and juvenile criminal cases for many years. Key points made include the limited autonomy of children's attorneys as attorney roles are defined and restricted by state-enforced processes, the high number of cases assigned to children's attorneys prevents adequate representation that should be focused on the best interest of the child, and political relationships and professional reputation can influence the children's attorneys' actions and decisions through the adversarial court proceedings. In the welfare case, In re Jennifer G. (1984), an appellate court issued an opinion leading to the removal of an attorney for his courtroom language used to advocate for reunification. The attorney stated some risk, yet still advocated for the mother. This was the first time an attorney had been removed from a case and there has never been an attorney removed for advocating for state custody or continued removal. Guggenheim notes that the obvious point to the entire idea behind familial removal is that it is and has been a "social experiment that comes with its own risks."''