Ethical Issues In Foster Care Essay

While there have been numerous reforms made to the child welfare system in Tennessee in regards to providing care for the children, one area that desperately needs to be defined is the provision of care while these vulnerable children are in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services. Currently there is no policy that addresses the responsibility for making sure that these children are provided healthy and timely meals while being held in the local office or while during transport from the office to court, facilities or placements. The caseworkers who have the responsibility for these children are taxed with providing these meals out of their own pocket and then seeking reimbursement which could lead to ethical issues. The children
Children and teen-agers in the care of the Department of Children’s Services are struggling to cope with and deal with the traumatic and confusing events that brought them into care. Their lives have become chaotic and they may feel alone and depressed; often the most stable person in their lives is their caseworker. “Traumatic experiences and an increased susceptibility for further wounds from unstable environments created in foster care continue to increase the vulnerability of this already fragile population” (Jones Harden, 2004, p.30). Caring for children and youth in foster or substitute care can be truly complicated and demanding. When a child is in custody the state is to assume full responsibility for a child‘s well-being and permanency. Children who are in the care of DCS deserve permanency. Permanency is not just about placement but it is also continuity and stability and knowing that their basic needs will be met while in care. They are often placed in facilities or resource homes that are far from their home community. This requires the youth to be transported whenever there is a court hearing, Child and Family Team Meeting, medical appointments and visitation with their family. They may also spend a considerable amount of time in the DCS office after being placed in custody or while waiting on placement and during this time they require and deserve
p. 7). The same standards for well-being should apply to caseworkers as do the parents. “Most children (59.2 percent) enter foster care due to neglect, which is ―often the result of inadequate housing, poor child care, or insufficient food or medical care” (Badeau & Gesiriech, 2003, p. 4). These children suffer from food insecurity issues that should not be perpetuated once in custody but rather should be able to count on having their basic needs fulfilled by the caseworkers they have come to trust in the process. “Food insecurity is defined as uncertain or limited availability of adequate supplies of nutritional safe food” (Oberg, 2011,