Raami Zeineddine

3/2/14
Prof. Gabrielson

Although some people may believe that foster cares are safe, they need to be even safer
because safe foster care will positively affect children by providing a healthy environment. In
Reyna Grandes memoir The Distance Between Us, her parents abandoned her, her brother,
and her sister in search for a better life in America. Fortunately their grandmother was able to
take them in. Unfortunately many children who are abandoned are sent to foster cares, which
most of the time are not safe and do not have the appropriate environment necessary for a
growing child. Abandoning a child can have permanent effects that can scar the child for life,
and growing up in an unsafe foster care can leave an even worse impact.
Before children are sent to foster care its obvious that they were either neglected or
abandoned, but the question still remains, why do parents abandon their children? The reasons
for parents abandoning their children may vary, but it is still a horrifying act that happens all the
time. In Reyna Grandes situation, her parents left her because they were in search for a better
life in America, which may seem like a good enough reason to leave their children but still isnt
a wise decision. When Grandes parents left she was old enough to understand what was
happening, but for most abandoned children they are abandoned when they are still infants.
When parents abandon their children they send them to a foster care thinking that it is
perfectly safe, but for most of the time foster cares are not safe.
Foster care is a place that is trusted to take good care of children, but sometimes that
may not be the case. The ones at fault are the foster care parents. Usually in unsafe foster
cares, the parents are poorly trained foster parents and without crucial health, medical, and
educational services.(pg. 143) Its pretty sad that when a parent is giving their child away they
are thinking that it will be in a safe environment, but little do they know that the child will be in
an environment probably worse than the one it was in before. There have been many cases of
child abuse in foster cares. In one case there was a foster care home near Plant City where
Charles and Marjorie would abuse their foster children. Marjorie Moss is accused of punching
children, hitting them with a wooden paddle, locking them outside for hours with no food or
water, holding their heads under hot water, and threatening them with a gun. The ones at
fault are not only the foster care parents but also is the departments who maintain foster care
organizations. Nearly 30 children were cycled through the Moss home from 1992 to 1996.
Even as the department investigated and found indications of abuse, it recommended the
Mosses be allowed to adopt eight of the children. The reason for the departments allowing
foster care parents to adopt more children even when they are aware of previous problems
may be unknown but it must come to a stop. The solution to preventing departments from
allowing things like this to happen may be as simple as suing the foster care company. The
foster care parents who have done any crimes would have a right to an attorney and a right to
stand trial in a court of law. The foster children would be sent to a safe foster care. In all foster
cares there would be background checks by an inspector on the parents to prevent criminals
from getting to be foster care parents. There would need to be checkups weekly to monitor the
activity of the foster home. The children would speak to the inspector and tell them what they
did the past week and how they are feeling about the home. The inspector would make sure
that the foster care parents would be keeping the house clean and sanitary, and would also give
a report on the past week. In unsafe foster cares children usually grow up with disabilities
because of the hostile environment in which they are raised.
There are many problems foster children face when growing up in an unsafe foster
home. These problems include many behavioral problems and disorders such as depression and
anxiety. According to worldpress.com, Children in foster care have a higher probability of
having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and deficits in executive functioning, anxiety as
well other developmental problems. The human brain doesnt fully develop until age 20 and
children are already in hostile environments by age 3-4 and even younger. Another problem
children face is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 60% of children in foster care who had
experienced sexual abuse had PTSD, and 42% of those who had been physically abused fulfilled
the PTSD criteria. PTSD was also found in 18% of the children who were not abused. These
children may have developed PTSD due to witnessing violence in the home. (Marsenich, 2002).
In a study conducted in Oregon and Washington State, the rate of PTSD in adults was higher
than that of combat veterans. The solution to the disorders foster children face may seem
inevitable to prevent or cure but I believe there is still a chance. In order to let the children
grow up healthy is to be in an environment where they feel comfortable and are happy. Only
good foster care parents can raise good foster care children, so the first thing is to allow people
who are really good with kids and have a lot of experience with taking care kids to become
foster care parents. Its easy to just say Hire better foster parents! and not do anything to
make it actually happen. If we want change we have to make change happen. The way to do
that is to do nothing but strike. The only way that the government will see that the people are
unhappy is to see some action. If the foster parents are happy and set the right environment for
the children then the children will feel comfortable and will get the stimulation they need to
grow up healthy.
The future of the world lies in the hands of the youth. The way we raise our children is
the way the world will be when they grow up. If we dont be careful on the way we raise our
children we will regret it later in life. It may take a great effort and a long time to prevent
unsafe foster care, but the result would be worth the effort put into it.