A Deeper Look Into Child Welfare Services - 1039 Words

A Deeper Look into Child Welfare Services Demitria Coleman Liberty University In the United States, there are programs designed to protect children. There are foster care, group homes, and other services for children safety. The Child Protective Services in Alabama has the sole purpose of helping children in cases of neglect and abuse (Child Protective Services). These services include foster care programs where children who are at risk of harm from birth family, or who suffers from mental, emotional, or physical issues. These services provide care to all children who meet the state qualifications and removed from their current home (Introduction of Foster Care). The foster care system is where children who can no†¦show more content†¦With the media portraying foster care as a negative solution to a very serious issue, does not work well with getting children out of their current situations. No one really exhibits how the children feel in foster care in the media, but studies show, children in the foster care system may not view their situation as neg ative. These children may have a great experience in foster care, even though there are a few flawed areas in the system. Their perception of foster care may be very different from the workers of child protection services and the media’s perception (Chapman, Wall, Barth, 2004; Ellingsen, Stephens, Storksen, 2012; Fernandez, 2007; Jones Kruk, 2005). The children’s perception of foster care is the most important perception dince they are the ones who has to live in the system. The Foster Care System The foster care system in the United States is viewed negatively and the media portrays it as such. The public only knows what the media tells them about the foster care system. The stereotypical views are mostly what is thought the foster care system consisted of, not what goes on behind the scenes (Leber LeCroy, 2012). The only people who would have a good insight on what goes on behind the scenes are the people that are involved, which are the caregivers, the social workers, the biological families, and the children. Their placements, relationships with their caregivers, and stability all had factors of how the foster care system was