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9.2: Foster Care

  • Page ID
    215502
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    Foster Care

    Ideally, every child would be able to be raised by their own parents in a loving, caring home. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. Some children are removed from abusive or neglectful situations, others are orphaned when parents die, and yet others are voluntarily relinquished by parents who cannot care for them properly. What happens to these children? They used to be placed in orphanages... group facilities which housed many children and were staffed by paid or volunteer adults. Orphanages provided for the basic minimal needs of food and clothing but did not fulfill the familial sense of belonging that children need. They were often overcrowded, under-funded and lacking love. (The movie Annie comes to mind!) Our country decided that we could do better for our children; we started placing children with families who would provide for their needs in smaller groups, placed in family homes. We called these families "Foster Families". Foster Care is provided for in every state and is administered through the state's social services department.

    mother and her child .png

    "Mother and child" by Ian BC North is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

    The following is a direct quote from the California Department of Social Services website:

    (https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/foster-care Links to an external site.):

    "Thousands of children in California's foster care system require temporary out-of-home care because of parental neglect, abuse, or exploitation. The largest percentages are African American and Latino children. Some stay in foster care for weeks; some for years. The children are of all ages and varying needs. Foster parents provide a supportive and stable family for children who cannot live with their birth parents until family problems are resolved. In most cases, foster parents work with social services staff to reunite the child with birth parents. Foster parents often provide care to many different children.

    A license is required to operate a foster home. The process requires a licensing worker to visit your home and meet with you and other family members. Minimum personal, safety and space requirements are required by law. Foster parents work with social services staff to determine the type of child best suited for their home (i.e., age, health issues, and gender). Foster parents receive a monthly payment to feed, clothe, and meet the material needs of the children placed in their care. Medical and dental coverage is provided through the Medi-Cal program. For working parents, appropriate childcare arrangements must be made by the foster parents." ...

    "Sometimes children may require more intensive structured care. These children may be placed in licensed community care facilities that may be anywhere from six beds to much larger institutions. These group homes offer individualized treatment for children who require a more structured setting. To become a group home provider, contact your local county welfare office.

    In addition to children placed in foster family homes and group homes, foster family agencies provide another placement resource. Agencies are licensed to provide certified family homes for children who require more services than are provided in foster family homes, yet these homes are less structured than group homes." See full source at: https://cdss.ca.gov.


    9.2: Foster Care is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.