Originally, Foster Care assisted poor and poverty stricken families who were unable to adequately provide for their children. Prior to welfare involvement, children were placed with family members or community members who cared for the child. In 1636, Benjamin Eaton became the first official “foster” child. Since that time, numerous laws and policies have been set up in an effort to care for children who experience abuse or neglect and provide temporary services to families in crisis (Barbell & Freundlich, 2001).
History of Foster Care
United States
Initially churches paid “worthy widows” by collections to provide housing for children in need (NFPA). However, in 1853 the move for a foster care system began. Charles Loving Brace, the director …show more content…
In the 20th century children in the United Kingdom became part of a legal “looked-after” system. Prior to the looked after system, wardships were granted to guardians to provide temporary custody of children but providing not parental rights to the guardian (Keating, 2013). Following legal recognition provisions for children unable to live with their parents were adapted from the 1834 poor laws. In 1946, The Curtis Report, set up the basic form of the present care system (House of Commons, …show more content…
In 1963, with growing numbers of looked after children, the Children and Young Persons Act passed authorizing local authorities to spend money in order to reduce the need of children to receive care (House of Commons, 2009). The Children Act of 1975 made the adoption process easier to further reduce the number of children in care. In 1998, the Department of Health launched the Quality Protect program to support the delivery of children’s social services (House of Commons, 2009). Furthermore, it legalized corporate parenting, giving local authority the legal and moral duty to ensure looked after children received an enhanced quality of life and proper safety. The Children (Leaving Care) Act of 2000 gave local authority the responsibility of safeguarding the well- being of looked after children after they left the system. Choice Protects, launched in March 2002, improved outcomes for looked after children through better placement, stability, and matching (House of Commons, 2009). As a response to a report on the poor education performance of children in care, the Children Act of 2004 gave local authorities the responsibility of making sure that looked after children received equal education to those outside the system. Despite numerous policy efforts, outcomes of children in care still remain poor (House of Commons,
History of Foster Care
United States
Initially churches paid “worthy widows” by collections to provide housing for children in need (NFPA). However, in 1853 the move for a foster care system began. Charles Loving Brace, the director …show more content…
In the 20th century children in the United Kingdom became part of a legal “looked-after” system. Prior to the looked after system, wardships were granted to guardians to provide temporary custody of children but providing not parental rights to the guardian (Keating, 2013). Following legal recognition provisions for children unable to live with their parents were adapted from the 1834 poor laws. In 1946, The Curtis Report, set up the basic form of the present care system (House of Commons, …show more content…
In 1963, with growing numbers of looked after children, the Children and Young Persons Act passed authorizing local authorities to spend money in order to reduce the need of children to receive care (House of Commons, 2009). The Children Act of 1975 made the adoption process easier to further reduce the number of children in care. In 1998, the Department of Health launched the Quality Protect program to support the delivery of children’s social services (House of Commons, 2009). Furthermore, it legalized corporate parenting, giving local authority the legal and moral duty to ensure looked after children received an enhanced quality of life and proper safety. The Children (Leaving Care) Act of 2000 gave local authority the responsibility of safeguarding the well- being of looked after children after they left the system. Choice Protects, launched in March 2002, improved outcomes for looked after children through better placement, stability, and matching (House of Commons, 2009). As a response to a report on the poor education performance of children in care, the Children Act of 2004 gave local authorities the responsibility of making sure that looked after children received equal education to those outside the system. Despite numerous policy efforts, outcomes of children in care still remain poor (House of Commons,