Reid Estep

826 Woodlawn St
Blackwell, OK 74631

Dr. Deborah Shropshire

Feb 25, 2024

Dear Dr. Shrosphire,

Hello, I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to give insight into better options for
the treatment of Children in the Foster System. Children are without a doubt, the future. How we
handle children well well-being, will determine how the infrastructure of the United States, and
the world, will be run in years to come. I believe that many foster children are neglected, and
taken from their already unstable homes, and put into foster care homes that are no better than
the ones they were taken from. As someone who has seen this firsthand on many accounts, I can
tell you that the effects of not having a family, are undeniably devastating. The primary reason
for the Foster Care system is so guardians have time to correct their mistakes, while their
children are still being cared for by parental figures. In some cases, however, the guardians who
were forced to give up their children spend too much time trying to fix their mistakes. This
causes the families of the fostered children to become too attached when they inevitably will
have to let them go.

It is without a doubt that every person needs someone who loves them. Children
especially need a supportive figure in their lives. Statistics show that ¨fatherless children are
anywhere from 3 to 20 times more likely to be incarcerated than children raised in dual-parent
households,¨ according to the AFPI. Children need guidance in their every day changing lives.
Adolescence is a time when a person goes through the first trials of life, it is where we learn and
adapt to changes and challenges. Children who do not have constant support in their lives will
inevitably fail to overcome the hurdles of life. The Foster Care system does little to help with this
fact. Many children are bounced from home to home. Children are forced to grow up with almost
no shoulder to lean on. According to statistics on USA Facts, ¨As of September 30, 2021, there
were 14,380 young adults ages 18–20 in foster care.¨ This shows that many kids, who are now
adults, went through some of the most challenging aspects of life, alone.

There should be a time limit or a deadline on how long parents have to get back on track.
Some kids spend years in their foster homes and become attached to the people providing them
shelter, food, love, etc. According to Benchmark Family Services, ¨ There is no set length of
time, as conditions may change due to the parent’s situation.¨ When a child is placed in a home
for months to years at a time and stripped away to be placed back into a home that has already
failed them, we are failing that child. I fully believe in second chances, in fact, I encourage them.
However, if it takes years for a birth parent to get back on their feet, I for one think this speaks
volumes about their character. It is not morally right to allow a child to become comfortable with
a parental figure, and then be placed back into the care of the one they are being taken from in
the first place.

Reuniting children with their original birth families is a wonderful thing. It allows the
child to be brought up the ¨normal¨ way. However, children tend to take on the aspects of
whoever they look up to. If a child is in an unstable household and notices their ¨parental figure¨
partaking in unsafe practices, the child might think it is ok and take it up themselves. This could
start a never-ending cycle where the abused becomes the abuser. This is why it is imperative a
child is shown how to thrive in the world as a functioning citizen. It is a shame that there are not
many more good parental figures out there than children needing help. Many of the ¨good¨
families have children of their own and do not even think to allow another child into their home.
I believe we need to integrate aspects of the Foster Care system into everyday homes.

My cousins, for example, used to be in the foster care system. About five years ago, my
aunt decided to enter the foster care system as a home for children to live in until their families
were ¨fixed.¨ My aunt got a call one night and my three little cousins entered her house aged 1, 2,
and 3 coincidentally enough. There they lived for over two years under the loving care of my
aunt, and uncle. One day they got a call from DHS and were told that the children's birth mother
was looking for reintegration of the kids. Since they were not the biological parents of my
cousins, they had no choice but to allow the kids they had been raising as their own for years to
be placed back into the hands of their neglectful Mom. Eventually, after a few months, they were
given back to the mother. It did not take long before the biological mother began to neglect the
children again. Not even six months had passed before my aunt found out the kids were placed
back into the foster care system. They were bounced from house to house before finally, my aunt
received the children again. It took years before finally my aunt and uncle adopted my cousins.

I tell this story not as a gain for sympathy, but as an example as to why this letter has
importance to me. Seeing the toll it had on not just my aunt and uncle, but my cousins and my
entire family is something that I cannot seem to get over. I genuinely hope that the biological
mother is doing well, but why is she allowed to go years without doing anything to help her kids,
and then receive them back? It is almost like my aunt was a glorified babysitter for years while
the Mom was getting her life on track. I fully understand the meaning and goal of the Foster Care
system but I believe that there are better ways to do this. Neglectful and abusive parents should
not be given chance after chance. All this does is cause harm to the kids, and foster families. We
can hope that the children will not take up aspects of their parents, but this is a false dream.
According to the Orlando Recovery Center, ¨Children of addicts are eight times more likely to
develop an addiction…Generally, if parents use drugs, sooner or later their children will as well.¨
The cycle of abuse can stop, but only if someone has the guts to do something about it and
demand change. This is why I am writing this letter to you. I believe in second chances but there
is a point where enough is enough.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and request for change in the foster care
system. I have seen the effects it has on foster families, and believe there are ways to address it.
If we have more people who know the beauty and benefits of helping children, the world will be
a much better place. I welcome the opportunity to keep in contact with you since helping
children is something that I aspire to do when I am older. Please feel free to contact me: My
name is Reid Allen Estep, and my phone number is 580-670-1950.

Sincerely,

Reid Estep
Works Cited

Brewer, “Fact Sheet: Fatherhood and Crime.” Issues, America First Policy Institute, 30 May
2023,

https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/fact-sheet-fatherhood-and-crime#:~:text=In%20a
%20study%20of%2075,raised%20in%20dual%2Dparent%20households

This article gave brief, descriptive facts about the link to a father figure and crime. The
author, Jack Brewer, was raised in Grapevine, Texas, and serves as the Chair of the Center for
Opportunity Now, and Vice-Chair of the Center for 1776 at AFPI, and was an Advisory Board
Member of Black Voices for Trump. The AFPI, (America First Policy Institute) is a ¨nonprofit
501 think tank that was founded in 2021 to promote former U.S. President Donald Trump's
public policy agenda.¨ It was founded in 2021 by Brooke Rollins, and about 150 employees. The
source is a right winged individual who has made himself known with former president, Donald
Trump. The article however, has little bias and was published within the last year. It is a reliable
source that gives statistics on how lack of a father can affect a child, which applies to the Foster
Care system.

“Does Addiction Run in Families? What Statistics Reveal.” Orlando Recovery, Christina
Bockisch, 1 Nov. 2023,

https://www.orlandorecovery.com/resources/does-addiciton-run-in-families-statistics/

This article listed multiple points, and statistics on the affects of a parental figure on
drugs, and how it can transfer onto their child. The author, Christina Bockisch, has a Bachelor’s
degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University and a Master’s in Advertising and
Public Relations from the University of Alabama. The article is a website for a rehad center
based in Oak Ridge Florida. The article is recently published, and although it is a reliable source,
the article is biased since it is based off one womans opinion. This is a reliable source since it
comes from a liscensed medical center.

“How Many Foster Kids End up in Permanent Homes?” USAFacts, USAFacts, 8 Sept. 2023,

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-foster-kids-end-up-in-permanent-homes/

This article gave multiple statistics involving foster children and their placement. It also
gave very descriptive details as to why the Foster Care system exists, and how it is run. The
author is not named, but it says it was writing by the USAFacts team which includes a number of
people. The Website, USAFacts, ¨…is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan civic initiative making
government data easy for all Americans to access and understand.¨ The website was launched in
2017 by Steve Balmer. The article was recently published, and was not biased. This article is
reliable since it gives statistics from government agencies.

Local, Big Fish. “Foster Facts: How Long Can You Foster A Child?” Benchmark Family
Services Therapeutic Foster Care, 3 Jan. 2022,

https://benchmarkfamilyservices.org/foster-facts-how-long-can-you-foster-a-child/
#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20set%20length,family%20for%20an%20unforeseen%20time.

This article talks about how long someone can foster a child. The author is unknown, and goes
by the surname ¨Big Fish¨. The source Benchmark Family Services, is ¨a network of
professional, therapeutic foster homes and committed staff across two states with the goal of
providing stable out-of-home placements for children in need.¨ It is a blog that describes the
difficulties, and possible solutions to Foster Care needs or problems. It is a blog with a variety of
families who foster children. This source has very valuable information for those looking to
know more about the foster care system. Since the author is unknown and anyone could have
written it, it is not the most reliable source but it does give factual insight into the inner workings
of the Foster Care System.