Sara Rowley

POLS 1100

2/27/20

Prof. Brittney Bills

Civic Engagement

THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

The issue I would most like to try and impact is helping to improve the mental health and

life skills amongst autistic and disabled youths in local group homes. I believe that in Utah, and

many other states, youth group homes tend to be understaffed, and underfunded, There also

aren’t enough volunteers to make up the difference. This can lead to maltreatment, a lack of

enrichment for the children resulting in poor mental health amongst them. Currently, there are

rules and regulations to guarantee a minimum standard of care in group homes, however, that

does not guarantee that those children are being treated with the utmost care. I decided to focus

on this issue because when I was younger, my mom worked at a variety of group homes (both

orphaned/ abandoned children, as-well-as disabled children). I noticed that not all of the

caretakers treated the children the way they deserved, and without parents and guardians, the

children deserved love from their caretakers, and not having it had the potential to negatively

affect those kids in the future.

Unfortunately, group homes in Utah, and across the united states, are extremely

understaffed. This is one of the root causes of a lack of life skills and low mental health in group

homes because to properly care for the youths there, 24/7 supervision. More often than not the

youth/ Caregiver ratio is very high and as a result, caregivers are getting burned out, and the
youths are not getting as much individual attention and care, and aren't receiving the enrichment

and instruction they need. Additionally, being a caregiver in a group home isn’t a very high

paying job, and because of the long hours, employees tend not to remain there very long, and

replacing them can be quite difficult. The youths that live there are typically mentally challenged

or disabled in some way and they are impacted because the inconsistency can be confusing and

frustrating.

Another cause for a lack of learned life skills and low mental health in youth group

homes is that they are extremely underfunded. Not all group homes are created equal, especially

not group homes run by the state. Because of a lack of resources that the group homes have

available, they are usually overcrowded, which means there are not enough caregivers to give

them the one-on-one attention they need to maintain a happy quality of life. Moreover, it is not

uncommon for caregivers to be hired who aren’t qualified or permitted to be caregivers, and

many that are hired are not given adequate training. This can result in youth who are sexually/

physically abused, maltreated, because the caregivers don’t know how to treat the children. And

many of the youths can become depressed because they haven’t had the opportunity to learn any

life skills, develop any meaningful relationships, and it can be difficult for some of the youths to

express those needs.

Group homes and different kinds of group homes tend not to be well known to many

people in our community, and consequently, there aren’t many volunteers at group homes. This

causes many of the youths in group homes to suffer because volunteers are a crucial factor in

whether or not the children in group homes are getting adequate access to activities and life skill

lessons. Typically, it is the volunteers who provide different activities and enrichment that can

engage the youths that live there. Many group homes provide the opportunity for volunteers to
help set up holidays at the home, to do fun activities, and to learn new things in engaging ways.

However, because there are not always a lot of volunteers, the youths in homes that cannot afford

to provide those experiences for the youths, don’t get to participate in those activities. As a

result, their mental health may fall, as well as their quality of life.

Sources:

https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/turnover-staff-group-home-2706.html

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/05/02/this-new-federal-

law-will-change-foster-care-as-we-know-it

https://psmag.com/news/is-it-time-to-start-shutting-down-group-homes-for-troubled-children