Every child deserves a home, a family, and a heart full of hope and dreams before entering the appalling universe of reality. However, many youths of various ages are stripped of these key attributes to growth in America daily due to unsuitable families collaborating with the foster care system. The lack of resources in the system exposes children to harsh conditions, both emotional and physical, and leaves lasting trauma. With the altered childhood, the following generation of adults possesses a life’s worth of scars, destructing not only society but also a nation’s economy. Unfortunately, the enforced trauma rooted in the foster care system from a lack of resources and ability to support leaves the budding seeds isolated. This analysis will thoroughly explain how government funds are distributed back into the community, primarily through aspects targeting seniors, and how this lack of funding has resulted in drastic adverse effects on the nation’s economy. Moreover, this text will outline how the limited support will result in various layers of trauma, a loss of diversity, and the foster care-to-prison pipeline. Even from an early age, all of these factors contribute to the overarching conclusion that minimal funding leads to the economy’s downfall. Further research and attention are essential for this issue, as it affects society through the country’s current economic structure.
To begin, the little governmental support results in various layers of trauma for the victimized individuals, thus affecting the nation’s future. A lack of funding leads to a lack of resources directed at mental health in foster care. The need for psychological support and its absence is so extreme that “…children in foster care [were found] to be 16 times more likely to have psychiatric diagnoses and eight times more likely to be taking psychotropic medication than were children in community samples,”. Poor mental health is a colossal issue in America already, and these disturbing statistics only add to its growth. However, this problem affects not only emotional well-being but also financial well-being since “the total cost from mental health problems and illnesses to the Canadian economy is conservatively estimated to be at least $50 billion per year. This represents 2.8 % of GDP,” (Mental Health Commission of Canada). Though these are Canadian statistics, according to Helen-Maria M. Vasilladis, MSd, PhD, Canadian and American mental health services are exquisitely similar, with the U.S. having 0.5% higher citizen engagement in these services than Canada.
The government’s lack of funding is also problematic because there is a loss of diversity in children with different backgrounds in the foster care system. Culture and originality are often lost when struggling to meet basic human necessities. The additional nurture required when children are away from their origins to maintain each child’s unique aspects cannot exist in such a low-resource environment. Unable to locate one’s individual identity can be damaging as “…lack of diversity causes stereotyping, mistrust and could lead to bullying. People who are viewed as different from the rest of the crowd, without an understanding of that individual’s background, may lead to him or her being singled out and ridiculed,” (Culture Mag). Developing an inaccurate interpretation of diversity can falsify the stated benefits of diversity in society, as highlighted by Partnership International, including rejecting stereotypes and personal bias toward others and using cultural diversity as a gateway to peace. Some would protest that though valuable, diversity does not impact the economy, but that is incorrect. Since 130 B.C.E. and the time of the Silk Road, multicultural exchanges have been the foundations of trade, wealth, and the economy, as expressed by National Geographic. As the base of all financial interactions, “Diversity and inclusion breed productivity as the ability to learn and grow from each other is exponentially expanded. A multicultural exchange of ideas bolsters richer idea generation, in turn leading to innovation and creativity,”. Furthermore, not only does diversity lead the economy, but is also essential to prevent harm. Comoros is among one of the least diverse countries in the world, according to the Harvard Institute of Economic Research, and coincidentally is also one of the least-developed and poorest nations globally. Alternatively, “Recognized by both the United Nations and the BBC as the most diverse city in the world, Toronto stands apart as a benchmark of multiculturalism. According to official data, over half of the city’s residents were born outside of Canada, making it home to nationalities from around the world,” , and Canada is “the 15th freest in the 2022 Index,” (“2022 Index”), showing its economic prosperity. This comparison displays how the absence of diversity can not only stand in the way of benefit but productively cause harm to a nation’s economy as well. Therefore, maintaining originality and diversity should be highly cherished in the foster care system, as a generation without these exchanges can be infinitely calamitous for all.
Finally, the need for funds often leads to children in the foster care system to have a life of crime. Enduring such an unstable childhood can result in a heart filled with rage, which only naturally often perpetuates adulthood filled with furious eruptions and a loss of sympathy, as noted by Adoption Child Time. There are so many tasks in a foster care home to cover that not much is left to help aid the sentimental needs of a child, as the same level of care and emotional commitment is impossible to meet with little funding. So, the resentment built during these years is only natural to release upon adulthood, frequently resulting in criminal offences.
We find that men who were placed in foster care as children are ten percentage points (23%) more likely to be convicted of a crime as adults than their investigated but never-placed counterparts. For females the point estimates are not statistically different from zero. Our subsample regressions clearly show that it is boys who are placed in foster care during adolescence (ages 13–18) that account for the association between placement in foster care and adult criminality. For this subgroup, the placed children are on average 25 percentage points (55%) more likely to commit at least one crime as an adult.
The study’s statistics use “percentage points” as a measurement unit specific to the trials, and percentage values in brackets portray the scaled values. Also, criminals miss work resulting in decreased productivity. Moreover, high crime rates drive tourism and retail away, affecting the GDP. All gathered, a hole is created in the economy. Arguably, crimes are commonly stated to be repairable; once the damage is done, all can heal. Regardless, this idea does not stand true. Like PNAS states, there is more to every crime than just a broken window or a dead body, as everyone involved is also cognitively influenced. The memory of the incident might be forgivable but never forgettable, affecting individuals’ interactions with one another.
In summary, the demolition of diversity, imposed poor long-term mental health. and crime rates, all connect to inadequate government funding for the foster care system. The effects of these occurrences are everlasting, and impact not only those directly in the system but all of America and its economy. The economic consequences of children in foster care’s treatment lead back to the overarching question: How has a lack of government funding affected youth in the foster care system? The nation’s economic consequences are merely a portion of the aftermath of this lack of funding.