Fostering a child with special needs and the obstacles encounteredFostering a child with special needs and the obstacles a foster parent faces on a daily basis can be a real challenge for both the child and the foster family. mother. Since the days of institutions and group homes, government has come a long way, but is it really enough? The adoptive parent and disabled children continue to struggle. With the help of a new and improved program, better education, a better relationship between the social worker and the foster child, and peer intervention, the foster care system family will experience greater success. History Before organizations or laws were introduced into legislation, children with disabilities were placed in institutions and groups. houses. The institutions were far from desirable and they had no outside contacts. Disabled people were labeled and viewed differently from normal people and kept apart from society. The first orphanage was opened in 1728 in New Orleans, and orphanages continued to open across North America until after the Civil War. (Pistorino 2008) “Founded in 1853, the Children's Aid Society provides foster care to approximately 550 young people aged 0 to 21 each year.” (The Childrens Aid Society-Medical Foster Children) The agency provides services such as Medical Foster Care so that children with special needs and disabilities can be with families instead of being institutionalized or placed in a residential program . (The Childrens Aid Society-Medical Foster Children) In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act was passed, and for the first time in the United States, the civil rights of people with disabilities were protected. In 1975 the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was introduced into legislation, children...... middle of paper......, thoughts and ideas they might have on the cases they are currently handling. And finally, I would have an open door policy so that if at any time the foster family had any concerns or behavioral issues with the disabled child being placed, we could work on it together and if necessary and as a last resort find another family for the placed child. Children and foster parents still face daily challenges with education, funding or lack of funding, advocacy, and support system from our caseworkers. There will always be obstacles for foster carers to overcome, but as a social worker we must use and exhaust all options, quitting is never an option. New and improved program could help foster parents and foster children with disabilities come out on top and have a higher success rate when it comes to meeting overall goals..