Chipungu Sandra Stukes, Bent-Goodley Tricia B
School of Social Work, Howard University, USA.
Future Child. 2004 Winter;14(1):74-93.
Over the past two decades, the foster care system experienced an unprecedented rise in the number of children in out-of-home care, significant changes in the policy framework guiding foster care practice, and ongoing organizational impediments that complicate efforts to serve the children in foster care. This article discusses the current status of the foster care system and finds: Agencies often have difficulty providing adequate, accessible, and appropriate services for the families in their care. Children of color, particularly African-American children, are disproportionately represented in foster care, a situation which raises questions about the equity of the foster care system and threatens the developmental progress of children of color. Foster families can find the experience overwhelming and frustrating, causing many to leave foster parenting within their first year. Organizational problems such as large caseloads, high staff turnover, and data limitations compromise efforts to adequately serve and monitor families. The challenges before the foster care system are numerous, however the authors believe promising policies and practices aimed at strengthening families, supporting case workers, providing timely and adequate data, and infusing cultural competency throughout the system, can move the foster care system forward in the coming years.
在过去二十年里，寄养照料系统面临着诸多情况：进入家庭外照料的儿童数量空前增加，指导寄养照料实践的政策框架发生重大变化，以及持续存在的组织性障碍，这些障碍使得为寄养儿童提供服务的工作变得复杂。本文讨论了寄养照料系统的现状并发现：机构往往难以向其照料的家庭提供充分、可及且合适的服务。有色人种儿童，尤其是非裔美国儿童，在寄养照料中所占比例过高，这种情况引发了对寄养照料系统公平性的质疑，并威胁到有色人种儿童的发展进程。寄养家庭可能会觉得这种经历不堪重负且令人沮丧，导致许多人在第一年就放弃寄养育儿。诸如大量案件量、高员工流动率和数据限制等组织问题，影响了为家庭提供充分服务和监督的工作。寄养照料系统面临的挑战众多，然而作者认为，旨在加强家庭、支持个案工作者、提供及时且充分的数据以及在整个系统中注入文化能力的一系列有前景的政策和实践，能够在未来几年推动寄养照料系统向前发展。
