Social Programs free essay sample

Research Paper As adolescents, we tend to thrive off of experiences in our lives and we base our personality and future upon them. Some of those experiences can be good but some can be malicious. Unfortunately there are some kids that are present in social programs who do not feel this opportunity to make mistakes or correct them. Which is why adolescents who are enrolled in social programs tend to have a different view upon the world. A perfect example of a adolescent who is troubled in a social program would be Antwone from the memoir Finding Fish by Antwone Q. Fisher. We do not only see it in Antwone but in adolescents around the world who are scarred from the enrollment in these social programs. Social programs are a government run program that takes in minors who have been ostracized from family and are taken to foster care. There they are given foster parents and the care is intended to be a short term situation until a permanent placement can be made such as adoption or being reunited with the parents (Smith, Ziets). We will write a custom essay sample on Social Programs or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All may seem simple but what if the child does not get taken in? They are then held in until they are 18 where they are released to the unknown world. Statistics show that the U. S have adoption percentages higher then no adoption. That is not the case in other countries such as Puerto Rico. 38. 9% of their foster kids are adopted while 61. 1% are not adopted (Havinga, Ivo). One of those non adopted kids would be Antwone Fisher Great duress has been seen in Antwone ever since the beginning. Antwone Fisher was sent up for foster care ever since he was born. His father had been murdered and his mother could not support a child for she was in jail. Antwone discusses the truth behind some of these foster homes and really shows what experiences adolescents in foster homes really deal with. Antwone had been sent to the Pickett’s household where he was abused mentally and physically at such a young age (Fisher, 68). In a result of all these beatings, Antwone effaced all of his problems surrounding him by escaping into his reveries (Fisher pg. 1). He was taught things that were not appropriate for his age and unfortunately became a man at eight. His ersonality and his social communications with others was very poor resulting in him being a very reticent individual (Fisher, 141). He did not know how to interact with others and he was always in a state of loneliness and depression which is one of the symptoms of Foster Care. â€Å"Out-of-home placement is typically associated with numerous disruptions in attachment relationships† (Troutman, Ryan, Cardi). This is the typical primary effect that foster care has on adolesce nts. The attachment disruptions among these children grow greater which is what occurred with Antwone Fisher. Disruptions and neglect in attachment relationships can lead to â€Å"reactive attachment disorder† (Troutman, Ryan, Cardi). Similiar to Antwone, a reactive attachment disorder is a â€Å"disorder in which the child exhibits severe disturbances in relationships with caregivers† (Troutman, Ryan, Cardi). Relationships are hard establish and in the near future it can only get worse. Not enough care is given by foster parents which result in long term consequences. There is no emotion being exchanged between the kid and the parent which is key to establish a connection and a relationship. Social programs such as foster care are intended to help the needy adolescents but can cause great phycological damages instead. Kids that are there from infant years grow in a environment where they lack communication, relationship and care. Instead they are provided with neglect and abuse. Antwone Fisher is a excellent example of a boy who had no family forced to enroll in foster care. In foster care he was provided with Mrs. Pickett who had beaten him, neglected him, and scarred him for life. With the experiences he had with Mrs. Pickett he can no longer communicated with other or establish any sort of relationships. He never learned how to give or receive feelings which is what some social programs practice unfortunately. Social programs don’t realize it but the future of the kids are in great danger. Salama 1 Works Cited Fisher, Antwone . finding fish. New York : Morrow: Perrenial, 2001. Print. Iva, Havinga. Monitoring and Reporting on Social Statistics Programs Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Millennium Development Goals and 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses. unescap. N. p. , 21 Sept. 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.