The Task Force on the Health of Children in Foster Care was authorized by the Delaware General Assembly in June 2014. Children in foster care represent some of the most vulnerable children in Delaware and in the Nation. “They have typically experienced a range of adverse experiences that can include not only child maltreatment, but also the related issues of poverty, exposure to violence, and housing instability. The combination of these risk factors can result in serious negative outcomes in both emotional and physical health. While children are in the custody of the state, there is an important opportunity to assess and respond to their needs. In doing so, there is an opportunity to affect the course of their development, not only as children, but across their life span.”
According to the report, “Children in foster care, both across the nation, include those who have typically experienced lives of significant adversity—poverty, housing instability, food insecurity, and exposure to violence both in their communities and homes—prior to their entry into foster care. This challenging history is then compounded by the traumas of the maltreatment that bring children directly into foster care, and the subsequent losses they experience as a result of being removed from their families, and often from their communities, schools and friends. Consequently, children and youth in the foster care system across the country experience poorer health and often have unmet health care needs including undiagnosed or under- treated medical conditions. Children in the foster care system are a particularly vulnerable population with significant and unique health care needs.”
Be that one consistent party in a foster child’s life – take time to Contact Us or fill out a Volunteer Application by using the menu bar above. We’ll be in touch to talk with you about ways you can be involved in Delaware County CASA.