Voters Attitudes Toward The Foster Care System

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Voters Attitudes Toward The Foster Care System
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Voters Familiarity With Foster Care Issues

• Most voters are at least somewhat familiar with
  the issue of foster care, but only one-third of
  Americans profess a high level of familiarity
  with the issue.
• A majority of voters say they get most of their
  information about foster care from the media, but
  a significant proportion get their information
  from their own experience with foster care, or
  from that of family and friends.

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Familiarity With Foster Care Issue
Very familiar
Not at all familiar
Fairly familiar
Only somewhat familiar
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Information Sources
Where do you get most of your info about foster
care?
News and other media
Those most familiar with foster care are more
likely to get their information from friends,
familys, or their own personal experience (56)
than from the media (39).
Friends/family experience
Personal experience
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Voters Feelings Toward Foster Care

• A majority of voters feel favorably toward the
  foster care system in their community, but their
  feelings do not run deep.
• A majority also want to see major changes in the
  foster care system.

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Feelings Toward Foster Care
Very favorable
Not sure
56
Very unfavorable
Somewhat unfavorable
Somewhat favorable
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Volunteered Favorable Impressions of Foster Care
Very/fairlyfamiliar
in your community.

• All voters
• 44
• 16
• 11
• 8

• Favorable Comments (net)
• Every child needs a good home/ good for children
• Good people get involved/caring, loving parents
• Good experience of friend/ family member

50 16 14 9
8
Volunteered Unfavorable Impressions Of Foster Care
Very/fairlyfamiliar
in your community.

• All voters
• 28
• 6
• 5
• 3

• Unfavorable Comments (net)
• Some parents in it for money/do not care about
  children
• Child abuse, neglect/childrentreated poorly
• Should screen foster parentsbetter

37 5 2 3
9
Changes To Foster Care System
63
53
30
29
All voters
Most familiar with foster care
10
Changes To Foster Care System
Desire for Change Crosses Party Lines . . .
59
54
53
51
29
Demo-crats
Inde-pendents
Repub-licans
All voters
11
Changes To Foster Care System
. . . Despite Differences By Ideology . . .
63
59
53
43
29
All voters
Con-servatives
Liberals
Moderates
12
Changes To Foster Care System
. . . And By Gender
60
53
46
29
All voters
Women
Men
13
Why Do Children Enter Foster Care?
Abuse
Health/safetyneglect
Other/allreasons
Not sure
14
Views Of Players In The Foster Care System

• Those whose job it is to protect and help
  children in foster care judges and caseworkers
  receive lukewarm reviews from the voting
  public.
• Voters have mixed views regarding the motivations
  of foster parents.

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Confidence In Judges Caseworkers
How much confidence do you have that
judges/caseworkers making decisions about
placing children in foster care/overseeing their
care have the resources, skills, time they need
to make the right decisions?
53
52
43
42
Judges
Caseworkers
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Foster Parents Motivations
Not sure
Financialpayments
Concern for children
Both equally
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Voters Attitudes Toward The Foster Care System