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Kaitlin Flowers
DeBock
English IV Honors
18 March 2015
Foster Care Funding
Foster care funding is an issue that is extremely overlooked in todays society. The
concept of taking a child out of a bad circumstance and into a new and improved one is a terrific
idea. This is what the foster care system attempts to do. However, this program has many issues.
The biggest issue with the foster care system is there is not nearly enough funding. All the other
smaller issues can almost all be fixed if the government allowed for a little more funding. Due to
an overpopulated and fiscally stressed foster care system, increased funding is necessary.
Foster care funding needs to be increased simply because more children are being placed
into the system. According to Walker, the reason for such an increase of children being put in
foster care is because of an increasing amount of parents/guardians neglecting and/or abusing
their children. Another explanation for such an influx of children into the system has to do with a
severe substance abuse problem. According to Klapper, Prescription drug abuse is also a
tremendous cause of this sudden spike of children coming into the system (Klapper 1).
Conforming to the ideas of Walker, it is said the more available a drug is the more people will
abuse it. This could be a reason drug abuse is so common in todays society. Even if a child is
not actively participating in the drug use it still generally effects the child in a negative way. It
can negatively impact the child not only physically but mentally as well. Children who are in
unsafe environments like abusive or neglecting parents are taken out of their homes and placed

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in the foster care system. Due to this reoccurring problem more children are being put into this
program. This in turn is one reason for a need of more foster care funding.
Foster care funding needs to be increased because the money that is in the system now is
not enough. Children put in this program are forced to live on an extremely low cost budget. All
children within this program receive the bare minimum it takes to survive. A common argument
to this is, they are leading a better life than they would be if they were in their previous
environment. Although according to Walker, making these children live off such low costs can
cause even greater problems. Requiring children in the foster care system to live on such a low
cost rate can result in bullying, which in turn leads to even bigger problems (George and Walker
1). Bullying can occur because the child in the system does not fit in due to financial reasons.
This sometimes results in insecurities and behavioral problems. Not fitting in can cause children
in this circumstance to become upset or angry about it and a typical reaction from a child or
teenager is to lash out. More foster care funding is needed to help children in this program get
through it in the best and smoothest way possible.
One final reason the foster care system needs a vast increase in funding is because there
are not nearly enough foster parents. Matching with the ideas presented by Levee, There are
less and less foster parents to care for these so the government is having to pay for all the
childrens expenses that have not been put in foster homes yet (Levee, Gordon, Chamberlain,
Landsverk, Fischer, and Vostanis 1). Foster parents do not get paid to care for foster children. To
be a foster parent extra money is required within the household. This is a problem. For most
people they do not have six hundred to eight hundred extra dollars to spend a month. However,
the government does give a partial reimbursement to foster parents. If a more substantial
reimbursement was given to foster parents more people could become foster parents. According

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to Levee, if more people became foster parents and more children were gotten out of orphanages
and put in a good environment with adequate role models it will help these children get on the
right path and move them in the direction that they need to go to live. If the government provided
a more substantial reimbursement it could help children in the program tremendously.
Due to an overpopulated and fiscally stressed foster care system, increased funding is
necessary. The point of the whole foster care program is to get children out of bad circumstances
and put each one into a better environment so they know the life they have been living is not the
only one for them. The foster care system gives these children a second chance at a good life.
With some additional funding many problems within the program could be terminated. This
helping to better this system even further to make it the best it can be for these children.

Works Cited

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George, Patricia, and Katherine Walker. "The Foster Care System Is Flawed and Should Be
Eliminated." Ebsco Host. Foster Children Programs Is the Property of Lakeside
Publishing Group, Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Klapper, Caroline. "Foster Care Funding Shortage Highlights Bigger Issues in Haywood
County." Ebsco Host. Mountaineer, The (Waynesville, NC, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Mar.
2015.
Levee, Leslie D., Harold T. Gordon, Patricia Chamberlain, John Landsverk, Phillip A. Fischer,
and Panos Vostanis. "Practitioner Review: Children in Foster Care." Ebsco Host. Journal
of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Dec. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2015