The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

152 they at one time faced (Pecora 6). Others are placed in homes in which their foster parents take very little interest in them (Combs). Occasionally their “caregivers” will even neglect them (Combs). In the words of Peter Pecora, “Youth in foster care and adults who formerly were placed in care (foster care alumni) have disproportionately high rates of emotional and behavioral disorders” (6). Most every child who was previously or is currently a part of the foster care system has lived a tremendously tough life, filled with emotional scars (Pecora 6). Unfortunately, in addition to the baggage the child caries into the out-of-home living situation, mental and behavioral health of fostered children often tend to decrease during the time spent in foster care (Cunningham and Finlay 765). The level of severity among these cases varies greatly. It could be as minor as a below normal self-esteem, or as major as complete defiance to all authority to the point of violence. However, the issues are severe enough that approximately eighty percent of foster children who have a mental or behavioral condition are in need of intervention (Pecora 6). Other children who were rescued from unhealthy situations and placed into the foster care system bounce from one physically unhealthy situation to another, meaning the child goes from being victimized in their original home to being abused in their assigned foster home. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, foster parents neglect their foster children in less than one percent of out-of-home care situations (50). This statistic baffled Eastway Corporation counselor, Anna Combs. In her seven years as a counselor, she has encountered many neglected foster kids. The foster parent(s) of these children provide a roof for them, but that is about as far as the caring goes. These insufficient caregivers misuse the money they receive for fostering the children on themselves or on their biological children. Few would argue the fact that foster children tend to struggle in the academic realm. A 2007 study performed by Courtney et al. consisted of interviewing young, previously fostered adults (5). The study found that only who had a high school diploma or GED (Courtney et al. 5). In the same study, only point nine percent indicated they had a two-year college degree, and not one person interviewed had a four-year college degree (Courtney, Dworsky, Cusick, Havlicek, Perez, and Keller 5). Though education is not