The story of Reggie Kelsey Essay Example

The story of Reggie Kelsey Essay Example The story of Reggie Kelsey Essay The story of Reggie Kelsey Essay Problem Background While reading the true narrative of Reggie Kelsey it appeared that there were many psychological, biological, and societal facets that lead to his concluding result, decease by self-destruction. This paper will concentrate on the sociological facet of what led Reggie to worsen in society, was merely that Reggie aged out of surrogate attention. Three and a half months after he aged out of surrogate attention Reggie was found dead in Des Moines River. Foster attention, though a impermanent arrangement for young persons, until they reach 18 old ages old was the one conclusive factor that kept Reggie alive. Foster attention, a societal bureau, was involved in supplying societal services that were to finally fix Reggie for passage into dependence ; these minutess should be viewed as a macro systems job. Reggie was pushed out into the universe without possessing the accomplishments that would hold kept him alive because there was a clip allocation on how long he could utilize the services of surrogate attention. Though Reggie had a assisting web it was weak, and he lacked several resources that would hold kept him from being stateless and from decease. Though young persons who age out of Foster attention are seen as regular teens, most of them lack the stableness of household, nutrient, and shelter that a normal adolescent would hold. In phase five of Erikson s psychosocial development, which involves the passage period from childhood to adolescence where they set up their individuality ; it is clear that Reggie s inability to incorporate his function into his new environment after aging out, suffered and left him uncertain about his individuality. Aging out of Foster attention when non developmentally ready left Reggie without power, get bying accomplishments to accommodate, constru ction, and rigorous supervising needed for endurance, particularly for a individual with an IQ degree that considered him to be mentally delayed. Literature Review Imagine one twenty-four hours holding a strong, good connected supportive web that kept you life and the following twenty-four hours that system wantonnesss you. Harmonizing to Atkinson ( 2008 ) about 20,000 young person age out of and issue Foster attention each twelvemonth, and the bulk of them face challenges because they have been abandoned by the lone support system they know ( p. 187 ) . Avery and Freundlich ( 2009 ) reported that many youth lack societal support, economic resources, and independent life accomplishments which cause them to be less inclined to go successful grownups. Avery and Freundlich farther noted that surrogate attention support, which provides lodging, fiscal support, and a scope of wellness, instruction and other needed services, typically ends when young person are developmentally unprepared to presume full grownup functions and duties ( p. 248 ) . Youth like Reggie Kelsey who age out foster attention because of some type of disregard or maltreatment are more likely to hold jobs organizing positive interpersonal relationships, reduced educational attainment, increased delinquent behaviour, and prosecute in bad behaviour ( Atkinson, 2008, p. 183 ) . They merely find it hard transitioning from one societal environment to another, with important jobs hindering their manner to going successful grownups. When aging out of Foster attention, youth experience challenges such as homelessness, unemployment, and miss a support system. All the challenges from aging out of surrogate attention generated Reggie s symptoms that led him to go self-destructive. Atkinson ( 2008 ) explained that keeping successful lodging nowadayss a important barrier for young persons after emancipation from surrogate attention puting them on an frequently irreversible way to failure ( p. 188 ) . Since Reggie did non hold stable lodging when he aged out of Foster attention, he was non under a changeless supervising that could hold kept him alive. Bing homeless is non an ideal state of affairs for any individuals, but for striplings peculiarly it leads to holding individuality diffusion, where they suffer from a serious deficiency of way and ability to do sound determination. Chronic emphasis has been found to negatively impact acquisition, memory, and executive operation ( Avery and Freundlich, 2009, p. 251 ) . Homelessness can besides viewed as great stressor and coupled with psychological variables are facets that lead to suicide in adolescence. Unemployment pestilences youths that age out of Foster attention significantly to where they end up involved in condemnable activity, in poorness, or on public aid. Bing unemployed can be a blow to an adolescence self-importance because they are non able to back up themselves they result to condemnable activity to take attention of themselves, or experience like life is non deserving life. Populating more independently was the most common life state of affairs for immature people who remained in the Foster attention system after age 18 old ages. Harmonizing to Atkinson ( 2008 ) Close to two-thirds of grownups in their mid-twentiess receives economic support from their parents ( Atkinson, 2008, p. 193 ) . In the instance of Reggie, he had no support fiscal support from parents, he was on his ain, and with small to no employment skills it would demo that the odds were genuinely stacked against him. Avery and Freundlich believed independent life is merely non a executable option for the bulk of young person in surrogate attention who lack the societal staging of stable household and community webs ( p. 253 ) . Reggie may hold had a assisting web that worked within the societal service system but he lacked the connexions that a province based system provides. In the absence of a distinguishable societal web for Foster young person aging out of attention resolutely infer unacceptable subsequent Foster attention results. Young person that age out of surrogate attention already experience sense of impotence, and hopelessness, and as they move towards independency they still need a societal environment to fall back on ; they can non make it all by themselves particularly at 18. Discussion 1- Ethical motives Though aging out foster care young persons when they are non independently developed violates several NASW codifications of moralss, the two that chiefly led to Reggie s death are subdivisions 1.14 and 1.16. In subdivision 1.14 it states when societal workers act on behalf of clients who lack the capacity to do informed determinations, societal workers should take sensible stairss to safeguard the involvements and rights of those clients . By aging out Reggie, who was mentally handicapped, the Foster attention system took away his basic right to boom. The procedure of aging out foster care young persons who are unable to do sound determinations without supplying extended attention after is unethical. In subdivision 1.16 it categorizes when it is acceptable to end services for a client. There is one important factor that correlates to all young person aging out of Foster attention, and in this factor, B, it states that societal workers should take stairss to avoid abandoning services, withdraw merely under unusual fortunes, and carefully see all factors doing certain to minimise inauspicious effects . With this statement it can be visualized that when make up ones minding to age out a young person there is no consideration taken to antagonize any of these factors. The fatal determiner that young person face when aged out is that the young person have to confront several inauspicious factors. In Reggie s state of affairs at that place could be minimum duty placed on him ensuing in his concluding result, but merely if person was seeking to attend attending from their unethical errors. In subdivision 1.14 vehemently relates to Reggie and sets aside those minimum errors, because as a mentally handicapped kid he relied to a great extent on the provinces determinations to safeguard his life. In the terminal the province aged Reggie out at 18 which is non unusual ; this is non an age that needfully attest to the fact that a individual is ready for all that accompanies maturity. Discussion 2- Practice A 2007 article in the diary, Child A ; Adolescent Social Work, examines the pattern issues for adolescents aging out of Foster attention ( Scannapieco, Connell-Carrick, A ; Painter, 2007 ) . The Foster young person stated, surrogate young person and sub-systems involved with surrogate young person after they age out discussed three really of import pattern subjects that should be addressed. The first subject was to hold a young person focussed pattern ; here foster youth thought the alteration needed was that they wanted to be involved in the decision-making. They expressed how they thought it was disrespectful to them because they were non asked what they thought they were merely told ; unlike an grownup who has the ultimate say in their ain lives. The following subject that young person expressed was a challenge was communicating and coaction. There is a break down in communicating when it came to the sub-systems, with losing of import information and deficiency of accurate cognition about supports and services available. Everyone identified a solution of a demand for one person responsible for easing the coordination of be aftering amongst the sub-systems. The last of import subject suggested was the demand for more skill edifice chances. The young person focal point group felt they were unprepared for independent life and what developing they got they were unable to pattern them before being aged out. They wanted better understanding of their ain wellness and mental wellness demands, besides protagonism for better educational scene. Recommendations There were many different actions the Foster attention system could hold taken to forestall Reggie Kelsey s result. The actions that would hold helped Reggie even if they still aged him out would hold been intense independent life preparation, rigorous follow up meetings with social worker and a proctor, or buddy-system release could hold been incorporated. For an stripling like Reggie with a mild degree of mental disablement preparation is of import ; there needs to be pattern of mundane state of affairss so issues that arise are non uncommon to him. This action helps because if he gets into a state of affairs that he has had preparation he will cognize the best option, but depending on the state of affairs he could be overpowered or influenced by another constituent. A 2nd action of follow up meetings and a proctor could hold helped because the social worker could hold been in tuned to the demands of Reggie. A hebdomadal agenda, so bi-weekly, so monthly, up until he was stable would hold been best. Besides the proctor anklet, or watchband would give the social worker a changeless notation of where Reggie was. This the best program of action for a individual like Reggie even though they may experience like they are on probation it keeps them under rigorous supervising and demands are easy accessed. The last option of a buddy-system where Foster young person are age out in braces is a good option, each individual is has a equal to associate and speak with. This would be helpful though the two are in the same boat and neither is a professional, and one may abandon the other. Mentions Atkinson, M. ( 2008 ) . Aging out of surrogate attention: Towards a cosmopolitan safety cyberspace for former Foster attention young person. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 43 ( 1 ) , 183-212. Department of the Interior: Article. Avery, R. J. , A ; Freundlich, M. ( 2009 ) . You re all grown up now: Termination of Foster attention support at age 18. Journal of Adolescence, 32 ( 2 ) , 247-257. Department of the Interior: Department of the Interior: Department of the interior: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.03.009. Code of Ethics ( English and Spanish ) . ( n.d. ) . . Retrieved November 2, 2009, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp. Scannapieco, M. , Connell-Carrick, K. , A ; Painter, K. ( 2007 ) . In their ain words: challenges confronting youth aging out of surrogate attention. Child A ; Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24 ( 5 ) , 423-435. Department of the Interior: Article.