Examining the pipeline from Foster Care to delinquency and crime

CJ 6301: Criminal Justice Project

Dr. Blackburn

*Add a brief description of what you will do and then add draft submission deadlines.

Project Description:

Draft Submissions and Deadlines:

Introduction:

This project focuses on…

Adjustment/Maladjustment to Foster Care/CPS placement

Why is there a need for a focus on this?

Statistics (nationwide, state, Harris County) CPS placements, foster care

Recent – not enough placements (sleeping in CPS offices, etc.)

Continued abuse within foster care (neglect and abuse – potentially lead to death (example – Gabriel)

Potential for engaging in delinquency/criminal activity

This project will…

Review of the Literature:

**Search for those scholarly articles

What is CPS? (how are families brought to the attention of CPS, why would children be removed, trauma of being removed from biological family (age as a factor)); what do know about caseloads of CPS workers?,

Issues with CPS – caseloads, not enough placements, not reporting issues, chain of command

What is Foster Care?

Statistics – who goes into foster care (gender differences)?, what do we know about foster families?

Adjustment to Foster Care or Maladjustment

Previous Experiences (due to issues stemming from abuse prior to being in foster care or untreated psychological issues, etc.)

Current Experiences (abuse or mistreatment while in foster care)

Maladjustment

Running away, truancy, delinquency, substance, promiscuous, being placed in multiple foster families, etc.

Model Program/Policy/Intervention:

Programs/policies to put in place

Goals, expectations, assessment of intervention to make sure it is effective

Original contributions – supported by evidence from literature review

Conclusion:

Summary – summarize the major points of the project - why is this important and what is being proposed to address the issue?

Final Draft: Final Exams: December 9-15