Vanessa Brunetta's family lived in poverty for the first four years. Her family was later ravaged by domestic violence, to the point where her older brother and she would spend many nights at their house or lock ourselves in our rooms. She was eight years old when she was placed in foster care. In her first year, she was moved through four foster homes. The number of foster children had risen to eight by high school.Vanessa, despite feeling unheard, unimportant and often unseeded, was a star through it all. At The Bishops School in San Diego, she earned a 3.9 GPA and was admitted to University of California, Los Angeles. This college is the most sought-after in the United States. It was a true celebration for her Bishops graduation.This story is set in the age COVID. It turned out that there was no ceremony or chance to walk across the stage in support of her foster family, who Vanessa had loved so much over the years. There was no special moment with Laura (court-appointed special advocate, CASA), who has stood beside her for eighteen years. Even a tiny bit of normalcy in a chaotic young life was impossible to find.Tod Mattox (Vanessa's foster father) says that I didn't know the unfairness of the system until I got involved. From my memory, awareness is the first step.The untold victims of COVID-19's ravages include the legions foster children whose basic support and services were suspended for several months. The virus-related court closings and delays caused a major disruption to the foster care system. This affected all aspects of the foster care system, including financial, emotional, educational and social issues. For young foster children, mental health care was so important that it was often limited to Zoom meetings or calls. Uncertainty over the future, which was a constant reality in the system, became the currency of the realm.Chicago saw a 33% increase in foster care placements. California, Kansas, and Florida, on the other hand, reported a decrease in child abuse reports. This is a chilling reminder about what can happen when attentive eyes are not present. A CDC report noted that there were fewer child abuse-related emergency room visits during the pandemic. Moiss Barn is the CEO of San Diego Center for Children. The reason is that there are fewer reporters who have to interact with youth.According to Stephen Moore (chief program officer at Voices for Children), a non-profit organization that supports foster kids, San Diego has seen a roughly 10 percent drop in the number children entering foster care. Experts believe that this is a sign that abuse in the home was not reported during COVIDs' reign. A data analysis by the Associated Press found that 200,000 fewer cases of child abuse and neglect were reported in the pandemican 18% decrease over the previous year.Moore predicts that these numbers will rise as children return to school in the fall and get more involved with mandated reporters, teachers, coaches, and therapists, who are legally obligated report abuse. Moore says that there may be unreported child maltreatment, despite all the pressure, stress and job loss families are currently under. Research has shown that financial insecurity is associated with previous abuse.Foster children have also suffered a severe emotional and mental toll over the past year. Baron states that foster children have felt isolated and anxious since they were deprived of contact with their biological siblings and families. Because of their vulnerability and past history of trauma and developmental challenges, the pandemic has been seen as a significant community trauma for foster youth.A John Burton Advocates for Youth study of 600 children aged 1824 found that four in five reported COVID had had a significant impact on their mental well-being. Another 27 percent felt depressed, hopeless, or down almost every day since the outbreak. A CDC report from November last year noted a 24% increase in mental health-related emergency for children aged 5-11 years old, and a 31% increase for youth 12-17 years.CASA volunteers, as well as the many social workers or children advocate groups that support them, step into this challenge. Voices for Children, a CASA volunteer group in San Diego, advocates for foster children at schools, courts and homes. Moore says that children can benefit from the calm presence of someone they trust and know in stressful situations.Advocates have to come up with creative ways to engage foster children online, such as providing tools and access for remote learning. This is a serious issue. According to the JBAY survey 100 percent of California students said that the pandemic had negatively affected their education. One in eight students quit school altogether after they said that more than 25% of them had stopped attending classes.Moore said that therapy is common among foster children, but there has been a drastic reduction in access over the past year. This theme was repeated by many groups across the country. Foster youth are in dire need of telehealth services.Kelly Douglas, Voices for Children CEO, said, "I think it's amazing for these children to have someone who goes out of their way for them." CASAs were able resume in-person trips in April. They were able arrange sibling visits, grab ice creammostly, and be present and available. Tim, a CASA volunteer said that this was a great opportunity to be there for the children.Vanessa Brunetta enrolled at U.C.L.A. last fall. With plans to double majors in communication and sociology, Vanessa Brunetta enrolled at U.C.L.A. She was one of 600 students who lived on campus under the emergency housing provision that schools provide for those without a place to go. She says that she was sometimes locked up by COVID restrictions. It reminded her of the emotional impact of living in foster homes, where I felt isolated and surrounded physically. She worries about food and misses her foster family from high school.Vanessa said that foster youth are really missing their parents and a stable family unit. That can also mean no place to go on summer vacations or winter breaks, no one to fix a flat tire, or open a savings account. It can also refer to [no one] to talk with when things get tough. Sometimes all we need is someone to vent to and that understands, she said.Her story is a CASA success, but it's an almost perfect one. National statistics show that only 15% of foster children end up going to college. Laura, Vanessa's advocate, said that she is a determined individual and will do anything to get her there.Barn believes that the foster system needs to be more proactive, academically and with mental health. He also recommends having resources available to families in order for them achieve stability in their homes.In the meantime, you can advocate for foster children or become a CASA volunteer. Douglas says that it only takes one person to make trauma-free lives possible for a child. This need has never been more urgent after a year of COVID.Click here to learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer.This article is an opinion/analysis article. Scientific American does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in it.
