In the United States, children who need out-of-home placement are put in the foster care system so that they will be protected and sheltered. However, some children spend long periods of time in orphanages and foster homes, despite the fact that they should be lined up to decent adoptive homes. Among the few reasons why children are subjected to foster care are extreme destitution, abuse and homelessness. Therefore, it does not come as a revelation that orphans and children under the foster care system are in poor health.
Proper health care is a fundamental need for all children. Thanks to health care laws, children and the youth under the foster care system now have access to affordable health care.
Health Care Coverage
In the United States, orphans and those in foster care are entitled to Medicaid. It is a program financed by the Federal and State governments that aims to provide health care treatments and services to citizens who satisfy certain guidelines.
Apart from Medicaid, they are also qualified for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and to some private and marketplace health care insurance. Among the health services that they are eligible for are preventive, screening, diagnostic and treatment services imperative in making sure that they are in their best physical and behavioral health. In Australia, for instance, children in foster homes in Sydney can receive treatment from chiropractor Sydney.
Addressing Psychosocial and Other Needs
Children in orphanages and foster homes each have distinctive health needs. For one, they have pyschosocial needs that must be dealt with; in addition to case planning and legal guardianship requirements.
Moreover, since most kids that are put in the foster care system are mistreated and abandoned, they are in great need of care and affection. Furthermore, their delays in growth and development, late immunizations, asthma and quite a few disregarded health problems present health challenges.
Recent data suggest that at least 80 percent of kids in foster care have mental health problems. These are caused by trauma, experiences in broken families, and lack of access to mental health services, among other things. U.S. laws are enacted to address the mental well-being of children and youth in foster care.