What's the Hurry? a Retrospective Study of Former Foster Youth Who Have Transitioned Out of Foster Care and Into Adulthood
Year: 2009
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ABSTRACT \nWHAT???S THE HURRY? A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF FORMER \nFOSTER YOUTH WHO HAVE TRANSITIONED OUT OF \nFOSTER CARE AND INTO ADULTHOOD \nby \nSherry Anne Jones-Gore \nMaster of Arts in Social Science \nCalifornia State University, Chico \nSummer 2009 \nNumerous researchers have described the processes and transitions that former foster care youth experience. Typically, much of this policy-driven research is focused on negative outcomes (incarceration, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, and dependency on public assistance) that effect public institutions. The following study is unique in that it focuses not on the measurements of researchers, but on the memories and emotions of adult former foster children about the foster care system, much of which is funded by a variety of government institutions. This study develops retrospective qualitative data that gives insight into how former foster children viewed their lives growing up in the foster care system and how it affected them as adults. Because this study was conducted within a single family/household, there is an intimacy that is not typically found in previous studies. The author makes recommendations for \nx \nimprovements to the system based on analysis of the interviews. These interviews emphasized the relationship of the foster children to what they called ???the system,??? and the pressure such foster children felt to ???hurry??? through childhood as they shifted between many institutions. These issues in turn have an impact on the effectiveness of program delivery while they are in ???the system.??? Such issues also limit the capacity of former foster care children to develop effective skills and plans needed to pursue post-secondary education. \nThe most important of these recommendations resulting from this study is that any decision-making regarding the lives of these foster children include their own voices, opinions, and desires in the hopes that transiency will be reduced. Ultimately this implies that there needs to be increased government funding. Increasing government funding could provide a positive investment that is a significant aid in the recruitment, training and retention of effective foster parents. Finally one of the last recommendations that this study made was for more options to be provided for foster care youth to obtain higher education. This is needed because they do not have support networks to fall back on. One way these educational options might be provided would be through the establishment of mentoring services within their educational settings.
Author: Sherry Anne Jones-Gore
Language: English
Topic: Child Welfare and Adoption
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W260900551