Last week in class, we talked about the foster care system. Before discussing it in class, I knew very little about it besides what I had seen from ads and little facts from other classes. I left class thinking about the assumptions I had based on ads or commercials I had seen. I picked the three ads above, because they I think they summarize what most of the ads regarding foster care look like. The top image and the one on the left both display pretty happy images. The top image displays very happy looking children and the other image uses bright colors with an encouraging slogan. The ad of the little boy displays a sad image. After thinking about these images, I concluded that growing up I either pictured foster kids as having very normal, happy lives with supportive families, or kids that were sad and had no place to go.
After class, I learned about all the different routes a child could have within the system. We talked about the positive and negative outcomes the foster care system can have on children. We talked about how a child can go back and forth between their parents, other family members and foster care families. We discussed that many are in the system until they age out and some do get adopted. Some of the children go back and forth from children shelters and some run away, which can lead to crime, jail time, kidnapping, and sometimes death. It was sad to learn that many of the children that run away past 9th grade are not being actively searched for. We also talked about how just because a child is in the foster care system does not mean that they are free from neglect and abuse. Although the foster care system does provide many children with great opportunities and positive influences, there are still many issues and holes within the system.
Observation:
For some reason I have noticed less homeless people on Guadeloupe lately, particularly near campus.
I had never thought about how Foster Care was advertised in the community, but that is so interesting. The advertisement plays into and forms these ideals that may or may not be what actually happens in the foster care system. I wonder how much that has an affect on the community as a whole. Thank you so much for bringing that up!
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