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The Systematic Mistreatment of Children in the Foster Care System

Through the Cracks

• By Lois Weinberg

• Price: $49.95
• Binding: Paperback
• Pages: 358
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 1st November 2007
• ISBN: 978-0-7890-2393-3

About the Book

Find out why children fall through the cracks in the foster care system—and what you can do to help

The Systematic Mistreatment of Children in the Foster Care System tells the stories of 10 children in the foster care system from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and the efforts by advocates to find them permanent places to live, appropriate schooling, and other essentials they need to survive. The children’s case studies highlight the difficulties in placing and maintaining them in healthy living situations with supportive educational, mental health, and other services. The book shows how children fall-sometimes over and over again-through the “deep cracks” that exist within and between the various agencies of the multi-agency system of care that was designed to help them.

Appropriate placement and services for children in foster care typically requires the coordination and collaboration of several agencies, including the juvenile court, child protective services (CPS), school districts, and departments of mental health (DMH). The Systematic Mistreatment of Children in the Foster Care System shows how these agencies frequently fail to meet their legal obligations to children in the system and what can be done to address these failures-and the outcomes they produce.

The Systematic Mistreatment of Children in the Foster Care System includes:

• an introduction to the child protective services system
• the general route by which children in the United States are removed from their parents’ custody because or abuse and neglect
• the major components of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the problems in getting foster children’s educational needs met
• the difficulties in securing stable out-of-home placements
• strategies for stabilizing home placements
• problems in funding for out-of-home placements
• strategies for advocating the removal of children from inadequate out-of-home placements
• legislation and practices for bringing about needed policy changes
• and much more

Equally valuable as a professional tool and as a classroom resource, The Systematic Mistreatment of Children in the Foster Care System includes introductions to specific issues presented in each chapter; case studies that illuminate the issues presented; subsections for each case study chapter entitled “Prevention,” “Intervention,” “Advocacy Considerations,” and “What Had Gone Wrong;” boxed items highlighting practical strategies, laws, and other relevant information; and a conclusion and summary of each chapter.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. The Child Protective System
• Reporting Abuse or Neglect
• Investigation
• The Petition
• The Court
• Court Proceedings
• Role of the Child’s Attorney
• Cracks in the Child Protective System
• Summary
• Chapter 2. The Educational System
• Foster Children and Disabilities
• Special Education
• Mental Health Services
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 3. Sharon: Preventing Placement in a State Psychiatric Hospital
• Introduction
• Case Study of Sharon
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 4. John: Struggling to Stabilize Placement with a Parent
• Introduction
• Case Study of John
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 5. James: Stabilizing Placement with Relatives
• Introduction
• Case Study of James
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 6. Silvia and Carlos: Placing Siblings Together in a Foster Home
• Introduction
• Case Study of Silvia and Carlos
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 7. Robert: Living at the County Emergency Shelter
• Introduction
• Case Study of Robert
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 8. Debra: Supplementing the Appropriate Program
• Introduction
• Case Study of Debra
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 9. Patty: Funding a Unique Program
• Introduction
• Case Study of Patty
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 10. Anthony: Advocating for Foster Home Placement
• Introduction
• Case Study of Anthony
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 11. David: Working with a Court-Appointed Special Advocate to Reunite Separated Siblings
• Introduction
• Case Study of David
• Conclusion
• Summary
• Chapter 12. Directions for Change
• Creating Stable Home Placements
• Improving School Outcomes
• Improving Mental Health Outcomes
• Creating Stable Transition to Adulthood
• Final Thoughts
• Summary
• Notes
• References
• Index