Greeson writes that when
youth legally emancipate from child welfare prior to being reunified with birth
families, being adopted or achieving permanent placement, they “age out” of foster
care. Youth typically age out of foster
care at age 18 and support these children received while in foster care is
limited causing them to seek support on their own. Because they are not equipped to find the
support they need, many have slipped through cracks in the system and suffered negative
consequences such as homelessness, health issues and financial ruin before
their lives really have a chance to begin.
This is where mentoring can benefit.
Early results of mentoring shows
that mentoring benefit youth, whether through structured programs or through
relationships that develop on their own, but more study needs to be done. A positive association between mentoring
quality and self-esteem was also revealed in a study on natural mentoring. However, although mentoring is viewed as
positive for foster youth, Spencer, Collins,
Ward & Smashnaya (2009) suggest that individual-level interventions
such as mentoring do not eliminate the need for more systemic action to meet
the many needs of these vulnerable youth.
With the early positives of mentoring and the suggestion that mentoring
does not eliminate the need for systemic action, where does this leave the youth who have already slipped through gaps
in the foster care system and seemingly have no hope?
I have family members that have been in and out of foster care who have abusive relationships with their real family members and I've seen how it has affected them. It's sad to see them be a part of their environment and act out because of the cards that life has dealt them.
ReplyDeleteI think a mentoring program can benefit youth, but the mentors need to be strong willed because the children in foster care may be disheartened and cold about a lot of things because they've already struggled at a young age. Trying to change their viewpoint on life will be a hard yet admirable process.
I have been doing a lot of research on the foster care system and I have come to realize that mentoring and maintaining some kind of relationship with family members help the process of self determination.
ReplyDeleteIn most cases, children are moved around so often, they do not connect to any one, but if they have good mentors or family members who continuously build on their relationships, it really does help them see a more positive outcome for themselves.