Foster Care: System, Statistics, and Parenting Significance

This report offers a comprehensive overview of the foster care system, beginning with its definition and historical origins in the English Poor Law of 1562. It outlines various types of foster care, including relative or kinship care (with its subcategories), traditional foster care, emergency foster care, specialized therapeutic care, respite care, and foster-to-adopt care. The report provides insights into the reasons children enter foster care, such as abuse, neglect, parental issues, and legal decisions. Statistical data highlights the number of children in foster care, trends in adoption, and the significance of foster parenting in providing support and assistance to children. The report references key sources, including the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and academic research, providing a well-rounded understanding of the foster care landscape.

Foster care
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Authors Note

Definition of Foster care
◦ Foster care is a setting where children
are placed in welfare agency or
rehabilitation centre or with some
certified caregiver as their parents
are unable to take responsibilities of
the children for some reasons. The
purpose of foster care is to give a
safe and secure environment for the
distressed children(Downes,2019).

When did the foster care system
started ?
◦ The system of foster care was started
due to the development of English
Poor Law of 1562 (Rymph,2017).
◦ The law was established to ensure
protection and security of poor and
orphaned children in terms of foods,
clothes, education and habitat by well
-established families.
◦ In 1636, Benjamin Eaton, the first
foster child who lived in Jamestown
(nation’s first colony)(Rymph,2017).

Why is a child put in Foster
Care ?
◦ There are different reasons for which a child is
put into the foster care system.
◦ The reasons are
◦ Abusive behaviour,
◦ negligence in care,
◦ illness,
◦ incarnation,
◦ death,
◦ drug abuse of parents(Fitz-Gibbon and Fitz-
Gibbon, 2017).
◦ Sometimes, law breaking decisions of a child
will lead to the verdict of foster care provision.
◦ Parents volunteer the foster care in some
circumstances when they are unable to take
care of a child due to financial or societal
issues.

The 6 Common types of Foster
care
Foster care
Relative or Kinship Care
Non-related Kinship
Traditional Foster Care
Specialised, therapeutic or
medical foster care
Emergency Foster Care
Respite Care

Relative or Kinship Care
◦ This foster care includes
family members and relatives such as
aunts, uncles or cousins and
grandparents. The family members
are regarded as most safe and caring
guardians. In USA, approximately 2.7
million grandparents are taking care
of their children under relative and
foster care.
◦ According to The Child Welfare
Information Gateway, three
subcategories are present under
relative and kinship care;
Relative or
Kinship Care
Voluntary
Kinship care
Informal
Kinship Care
Formal
Kinship care

Informal kinship
care
If the child is abused by the parents, some
close relative takes care of that child.
Therefore state does not take legal
custody of him or her. In-Home Family
Support has been given to the child and
the relative takes responsibility of that
child (often after the involvement of child
welfare workers).
This foster care does not involve in the
regulations of Child Welfare Care system.
The parents leave their child willingly to
the close relatives or family members if he
or she going to some other place or they
cannot take care of them due to illness.
Voluntary Kinship
care
Formal Kinship care
This foster care involves legal steps and court’s verdict to place the child
in the foster care under a relative

Traditional Foster Care
The children is placed with the foster
care of an acquaintance (family friend,
teacher, coach and neighbour) for
safer and secure life .In many states
and countries, non kinship foster care
needs the evidence of temporary
license of foster care.
◦ Trained and licensed foster parents
are given the responsibility of a child
with the consent of the biological
parents. They take care of the child
until any permanent plan is
implemented
Non-related Kinship

Emergency Foster Care
Abused and neglected children are
traumatised in maximum cases of
foster care so that they need
therapeutic and medicinal support to
cope with their present condition. The
care giver must have training and skills
to reduce their stress and trauma.
Short term care for children to give a
protective custody at any time of
emergency. The care-giver take the
responsibility of the child until a
relative or foster parents is found.
Specialised, therapeutic
or medical foster care

While foster parents need time with the
children for making them
accustomed, the respite care giver will
provide regular care to the children with
the short term care.
Foster-to-adopt care is another kind
of foster care in which the families
adopt the children with many benefits.
This foster care also reduces the
placement number of the children.
This is sometimes called as “dual
licensing”.
Respite Care

How many kids are in the Foster
care system?
◦ 442995 children are in foster care according to the report of Adoption and Foster
Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)(www.nacac.org ,2020).
◦ The number of foster children will be increased by 1.5% and 9.6% from 2016 and
2013 respectively.
◦ 56 % of the foster children have a case plan of reunification with their biological
parents.
◦ Number of adoption of foster children is increased from 57209 to 59430 from 2016
to 2017.
◦ According to a report, since September 30, 2017;the number of children who are
still waiting for adoption is 123437 and the number of children has been increased
in next year.

Significance of Foster parenting
◦ Foster parenting helps children with proper support and assistance after they
survive from extreme negligence and abusive behaviours.
◦ Foster parents support the children in visiting the family and in appearing in the
court.
◦ Now-a-days foster parents can also adopt children.

References
◦ www.nacac.org (2020). Foster Care Numbers Up for Fifth Straight Year. [online] The
North American Council on Adoptable Children. Available at:
https://www.nacac.org/2019/01/18/foster-care-numbers-up-for-fifth-straight-year/
[Accessed 29 Feb. 2020].
◦ Rymph, C.E., 2017. Raising government children: A history of foster care and the
American welfare state. UNC Press Books.
◦ Downes, C., 2019. Separation revisited: Adolescents in foster family care.
Routledge.
◦ Fitz-Gibbon, A.L. and Fitz-Gibbon, J.H., 2017. Welcoming Strangers: Nonviolent Re-
parenting of Children in Foster Care. Routledge.