The Importance Of Foster Care

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With the amount of change and unpredictability, being in the foster care system affects mental and physical health. Even though the process is supposed to be quick, on average it takes almost three years to either be reunited with parents or be adopted (ABCNews, 2006). Foster care tends to have an unattended disruptive nature between a child and a caregiver. Extended time of separation is one of the sources of a child’s anxiety and depression of ever finding a stable family (Adamec 1998). Considering the great importance of close relationships with primary caregivers, the length and disruption in placement can add to negative behaviors. “All adopted children have been wounded simply because they experienced profound loss before they were embraced by their new family” (Eldridge 1999 pg. 25-26). The evidence that three years or more may be involved in adoption provides more time for the foster child to become increasingly wounded. …show more content…
However, ABCNews (2006) implies the age is 10. Thus, the average age to be adopted is when a child is starting to understand what happening in his/her life. If there were more adoptive parents the average adopting age and number of kids in foster care could go down. Regardless of the different information times found in sources, shortening the time between removal from a dangerous home environment and providing secure relationships could be