Stand For Them
As Well
By Aleja Aslan
In Delaware, there is a new law that will benefit those foster care children pursuing college after high school. Gov. John Carney of Delaware, announced during January’s State of the State that he was trying to push legislation ”to waive tuition and fees” for ex-foster care students attending University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical Community College. An article posted in WHYY news says there are about 600 kids in foster in Delaware alone. The passing of this allows all 600 of these kids to have a chance at really making a difference in their lives. There are many of those that support this idea, due to the fact that foster care kids deserve a better care and more opportunities. However, some are questioning why tax dollars should pay for these students' educations.
In the United States, there are so many children that are part of the foster care system. This is due to the fact that they do not have a proper home or legal guardians to care for them. The primary purpose of foster care is to provide a safe and stable environment for a child who cannot be with his or her parents for some reason. An environment that feels like home instead of a group home or other residential center is usually best for a child. However, children in the foster care system may face aggression and abuse. Many of them are unhappy and do not get the proper care they deserve.
One big issue that the kids in the system face is abuse. This is due to the fact that many foster parents feel entitled to the kids' lives and therefore they do whatever they feel like. Since the kids do not have a greater voice to speak for them, they stay silent while they face the abuse. Many kids are sexually, emotionally, or physically abused and mistreated. In a study of investigations of alleged abuse in New Jersey foster homes, the researchers found a lack of “anything approaching reasonable professional judgment” and concluded that “no assurances can be given” that any foster child is safe. is it not the purpose of foster care to protect and care for them, but instead they are being abused and mistreated.
A study of cases in metropolitan Atlanta found that among children whose case goal was adoption, 34 percent had experienced abuse, neglect or other harmful conditions. For those children who had recently entered the system, 15 percent had experienced abuse, neglect or other harmful conditions in just one year. 25 percent to as high as 40 percent of former foster children report having been abused or neglected in care. Interviews were successfully completed in 91% of eligible children.
Of these youths, 54% and 41%, respectively, reported having been exposed to such violence in the past 6 months. Girls, victims of assaultive violence and weapon related violence, and those reporting exposure to mild violence were more likely to have higher levels of distress symptoms than those without such characteristics, after age was controlled for. The percentage of child abuse and neglect victims with the caregiver alcohol misuse risk factor increased from 10.6% to 12.1% from 2015-2017.
The percentage of victims with the drug abuse caregiver risk factor increased from 27.1% to 30.8% from 2015-2017. 84% of the girls had been physically abused; 95% were victims of ongoing abuse by the biological parents (78%). Sexual abuse was reported by 81%, and 68% were sexually abused by more than one individual. Ninety-five percent were neglected; 51% of the neglect was classified as severe and chronic.The majority of children (85%) reported having been a witness to violence, and 51% had been a victim of violence during their lifetime.
Delaware passing this legislation to support students aging out of the foster care system can show the the world how much this can help all of the other foster kids around the world. How much would this actually help though? For example, Delaware has an average college tuition of $11,495.In an article posted by the PSRFA(Pennsylvania State Resource Family Association) there's about 14,000 kids in foster care in Pennsylvania, with about 1,100 of that 14,000 being “aged out” of foster care (which means they grew to be 18 and no longer can be in foster care). At that point how are these kids going to make it to college and be able to afford the average tuition. If this law were to be passed foster kids all over Delaware would have the opportunity to go to college and be able to worry less about surviving. Some people say that you can dream at any point in your life and you just have to push yourself to get to where you want to go. I agree with Michael Ketter’s quote which says “When you’re surviving you can’t dream.” I think this describes the position of all the foster kids in the world, how can they go to college and better themselves if they know they have no chance of affording it.
We need to be helping those that are going through harsh times, we need to take better care of their children who are living in a corruptible system, we need to start paying more attention to them because children are the future.