what is foster care

Foster care is the system in which a minor has been removed from the physical custody of biological parents/adoptive parents/or legal guardians and placed into the physical care of the state or local government agency responsible for the welfare of such children. Children are placed into foster care due to allegations of severe abuse or neglect on the part of the child’s legal caregivers. Children in foster care can live in the care of relatives, foster homes, group homes or other agency-certified/approved caregiver. Foster care is designed to be short term until the child can either be safely returned to their prior caregiver or be freed for adoption.

Foster care is a great tool to make a difference in a child's life. I have read a lot of informative stories on adoption.com/forum. I would suggest going there and reading about the different perspectives people have.

Foster care replaced orphanages in the United States. For several decades it has been the way for children to be cared for when their parents are not able to provide for their needs. Children are sent to homes where "foster parents" have been trained and passed back ground checks to be their guardians until their biological parents can once again care for them. Majority of the time the goal is for the parents to reunite with their children after the courts have deemed them ready. However, sometimes after parents have been given a large amount of time and resources to make changes and have not, their judge will remove their rights and the children will be adopted. Sometimes by the family that fosters them, and sometimes by another family that is looking to adopt.

There are a lot of great articles and videos about foster care on this site. I have used them to help our family and I have found them of great value. Just search foster care in the search box and you'll see a lot of information.