Research

National Coalition for Child Protection Reform FOSTER CARE VS. FAMILY PRESERVATION: THE TRACK RECORD ON SAFETY AND WELL-BEING read on the web 11-25-09 www.nccpr.org

There is alot of information throughout this site that contrasts child protection agency intervention- removal from families- with family preservation. I was familiar with most of this data before finding it on the website. The site offers case studies of children abused within the foster care system, case studies of children who shouldn't have been removed from their birth parents, racism, cultural supremacy and poverty removals, suggestions for improvement.

This paper in particular, is a short opinion piece evaluating the records of various states, and comparing it to data on how many children are abused in the system. One problem with this type of information is that it is difficult to get accurate numbers, with child welfare agencies who often investigate claims of foster care/ group home abuse directly interested in the groups and homes. It is there fore difficult to get unbiased results.
From my own experiences, I can say that I have witnessed firsthand abuse and neglect in 5 of 8 of the foster homes I grew up in, even to the severity of hospitalization. When it was repoorted, no follow up occured. Years later, one of the more violent homes, who had been reported a number of times for physical abuse recieved Utah's Foster Family of the Year award.