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What About the Foster Kids

Frank Warren
The Commuter

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The effects that child abuse can have on kids that go into foster care are tremendous. Having been in foster care system since the age of 4, and then again at the age of 15, I got to see, and experience, firsthand the hardships that kids have to face.

According to http://www.allgodschildren.org there are an estimated 10,000 kids in the foster care system in Oregon. In Linn County there are three homes, (9 foster beds) that are dedicated to the Oregon Youth Authority, and over 356 beds for the Department of Human Services. A lot of these kids have either been abused or have committed a crime.
Donna Brubaker, a foster parent for over 30 years said, “A lot of kids when they come into foster care have major trust issues, it usually takes about 5 or 6 months for the foster parent to earn the kid’s trust. A lot of kids don’t have a sense of right and wrong, because they may have been disciplined when they shouldn’t have been or not been discipline when they should have.”
Troy Hopper, a teacher in Sweet Home that works with special needs and foster children said, “a lot of these kids are loners, they don’t trust people, or they have been hurt and so either they are loners are in trouble. Foster kids have a hard time talking with others.”
The foster care system over the last 18 years has changed a great deal, with more programs and tools that weren’t available before this time. In February Linn-Benton went to the House of Representatives, to see how they can work with foster kids and help them get into college, and find the resources that they need to better their college experience. There are also moves, within the state to try and get legislation passed to help them to become aware of the resources like Oregon healthcare, once they are out of foster care. With budget cuts on their way it will be interesting to see if these resources evaporate.

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