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Tate West
Mrs. Barnes
English 112
6 April 2015
Undeserved Suffering
According to Merriam Webster, a family is a group of individuals living under one roof
and usually under one head. A family is also something too much of our youth find themselves
without. The only way to abolish this problem is through a process known as adoption. Now a
weed of hopelessness has arisen from the soil of unawareness. However, this weed can be easily
uprooted and a flower of hope for these lost children can take its place. This starts with
awareness.
So what exactly happens to the children waiting to be adopted? In response, these kids
will find themselves in foster care (Adoption). This temporary placement known as foster care
is where a family of any size will host a child whose birth parents are unable to take care of
them in an arrangement (What is Foster Care). Today, there are 400,000 children waiting to
be adopted (98 Interesting Facts). And some are more endangered than others.
The time is running out for some of the 400,000. There is something called aging out.
Unfortunately, this occurs when a child in foster care becomes too old and is considered an adult
(Stone). An overwhelming number of over 30,000 children in American foster age out each
year (98 Interesting Facts). It is too large of a number that quickly needs to dwindle. People
should try to imagine themselves as being one of the kids. This task could be taxing as one may
not have any knowledge of what exactly a foster child goes through.

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Life as a foster child is not very easy. 22% of children in foster care will try to escape the
situation (Stone). There must be something uninviting that prompts them to flee. When placing a
child in foster care, the families chosen are usually the ones with room in their homes for extra
children. This will not always work out because the one being moved may not have their unique
needs considered before placement. Many in this program find themselves with psychiatric
issues and in need of medication (Stone). This is twelve times more likely than other children
with their biological families (Stone). Not only could one placement be a problem, multiple
placements could expand these predicaments.
Apart from all of these issues, there is the very real factor of a foster child being moved
to multiple houses in the course of being in foster care. Nearly 20% of children experience ten or
more placements (Stone). On the topic of constantly moving, homes are not the only things that
are being transversed by these kids: 65% have been in seven or more schools (Stone). Foster
care is a process that is very necessary in a childs future. Without it, there would be no transition
from needing a family to adoption. Still it is also very powerful and can take a rough tole on a
kid who has been in there too long.
There are multiple reasons why foster care is necessary in the first place. This will all
come down to one question: is the safety of the child jeopardized because of its environment.
There are some things that parents have little control over. One of these things is poverty. The
single most common factor in families whose children are in foster care is poverty (Craft). This
is very unfortunate that a family has to be divided because of such an issue that is something
terrible in itself. A lesser known reason is the child is better off with a different family because he
or she does not cooperate with the family (Craft). Unfortunate situations lead to even more
unfortunate outcomes.

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A childs safety can also be at risk due to factors that their parent or parents have
complete control over. These such things like sexual abuse, physical abuse, or neglect. 2.9
million suffer from child abuse every year in the United States alone (Child Abuse). Foster
care also calls the names of those who are abandoned or whose parents were drug addicts (Craft).
Everyone that is human makes mistakes. Still, it is so hard to understand why ones priorities
would be put in front of their children. This is an issue that beckons for help.
Clearly, this problem could be avoided in a perfect world. The world today is not perfect
by any stretch. As a result, the strategy regarding the adoption and foster care processes must be
changed. Instead of wishing adults would stop making bad decisions that result in the loss of
their child, action should be taken. The worlds awareness of the situation will lead to this action
and more children will find a home.

Works Cited
"98 Interesting Facts About. Random History and Word Origins for the Curious Mind. Random

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History.com, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
"Adoption." Adoption. n.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar.
"Child Abuse Facts." Safe Horizon. n.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
Craft, Carrie. "The Top Reasons Children Enter the Foster Care System."About.com. n.d.
Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Stone, Deb. "U.S. Foster Care: A Flawed Solution." STIR Journal. 11 May 2014. Web.
20 Mar. 2015.
"What Is Foster Care." What Is Foster Care. n.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.

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