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In the United States approximately 2.8 million children live with relatives rather than their parents; roughly
800,000 children live in foster care. These children often have special needs that usually need to be addressed by
mental health and health care agencies under a state’s welfare system.
Children are removed from a parental home and placed with relatives or in foster care for a variety of reasons
including child abuse, parent arrest, death of both parents, parent abandonment or parents voluntarily giving up
custody because of mental illness or disease.
A study conducted in 2007 involving a survey of over 91,000 children found that those who lived in kinship care
rather than with at least one parent tended to have a greater chance of suffering from mental health issues and
physical problems. The study was carried out by Sara B. Eleoff and researchers at the University of Rochester
School of Medicine and Dentistry, New York. Eleoff noted that the special health care considerations of these
children included anxiety, ADHD and depression.
The same study pointed out that children who lived with relatives and not a parent were also more likely to be
older than nine years of age, African American, live in households at or near poverty level and have public health
assistance insurance. The researchers noted that many of the relative caregivers studied were older and in overall
poor health.
Eleoff believes that these families and children could benefit from the welfare system’s support and services, and
educators, public health agencies and health care givers should, if they suspect a child is living in a nonparental
environment, consider the special needs these children may require.
Eleoff and her colleagues presented findings from this study in Vancouver, British Columbia at the Pediatric
Academic Societies annual meeting.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway website explains how each state’s welfare practices and laws determine
when an agency can become involved in kinship care. Some factors that are taken into consideration include the
age of the child, legal custody, safety issues, etc. A caseworker from the child welfare agency will usually make
the first contact with relatives, or a relative may contact the agency asking for help.
Children with broken homes generally suffer more mental trauma than others living in a happy, healthy home
with two or even one single parent. Working with these children to develop life skills is pivotal to the sometimes
turbulent transition into adulthood.
Sources
1. www.nmha.org/Mental Health America. 2000 N. Beauregard Street, 6th Floor Alexandria, VA 22311.
2. www.mentalhealthamerica.net/download.cfm?DownloadFile=A04D60B2
3. http://blog.taragana.com/health/2010/05/03/kidsraisedbyrelativesfacephysicalmentalhealth
4. American Academy of Pediatrics, news release, May 2, 2010
5. www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/cpswork.cfm (How The Welfare System Works)