The courts also have a hand when it comes to termination of parental rights and making a child available for adoption. Public agencies can contract private agencies to provide foster care services to children and families. Private and public agencies collaborate to provide the best of services to the children. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 and Child Family and Services (CFSRs) have provided an impetus for reform in the realms of child welfare. Some of the changes the ASFA has introduced with regard to child foster care include shortening of the timeline for making decision about permanency. The ASFA has eliminated long-term foster care as a permanent option (Bass, Shields, & Behrman, 2004). With ASFA there are clarifications on when states do not have to make reasonable efforts to re-unify children with their real parents. The act offers guidance on issues regarding termination of parental rights. It also provides direction when it comes to recognizing kinship caregivers as legitimate placement option. The act emphasizes increased accountability. The CFSRs helps in evaluating whether welfare agencies meet established national standards. This is facilitated through an array of systemic, family, and child outcome measures used to determine whether these agencies guarantee safety of the children under their care (Bass, Shields, & Behrman, 2004). With the CSFRs, the states have to demonstrate that they are making progress towards meeting the set standards. Failure to do so attracts financial penalties.

Children under foster care face myriad challenges that impact their physical and psycho-social health. Children under foster care exhibit more health problems relative to other groups of disadvantaged children (Vandivere, Chalk, & Moore, 2003). The gap between the health of foster children and children who are not under foster care is great among young children. Children under foster care are four times more likely to have a disability than children who are not under foster care (Barber, Delfabbro, &...

These children have also been diagnosed with chronic health problems. Research shows that 15% of children under foster care are either in fair or poor health. Eleven to fourteen-year-olds under foster care do report having used banned or illicit substances. This is something to be worried about because any use at all should be a cause for alarm.
To remedy the children's physical and psycho-social health they should receive appropriate interventions. These children should therefore be accorded health insurance. This can guarantee the children under foster care their health care needs. Vast majority of children aged under foster care have health insurance. They also have pubic and private coverage. Many of them are also vaccinated (Bilaver, Jaudes, Koepke, & Goerge, 1999). This protects them against arrays of serous infections. They are also accorded dental care. In fact, 3 out of 4 four children ages 3 to 14 under foster care visit dentists.

Children under foster care should be subjected to health screening before they are put under the care of the child welfare agencies. They should also be subjected to ongoing assessments and related treatments. The education and healthcare needs of children under foster care should be met.

References List

Bilaver, L.A., Jaudes, P.K., Koepke, D., & Goerge, R.M. (1999). Note on research: The health of children in foster care. Social Service Review, 73(3), 401-417.

Barber, J.G., Delfabbro, P.H., & Cooper, L.L. (2001). The predictors of unsuccessful transition to foster care. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disciplines, 42(6),

785-790.

Bass, S., Shields, M.K., Behrman, R.E. (2004). Children, Families, and Foster Care: Analysis

and Recommendations. The Future of Children, 14(1).

Vandivere, S., Chalk, R., Moore, K.A. (2003). Children in Foster Homes: How are They Faring?

Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/files/fosterhomesRB.pdf