Children enter the foster care system for a variety of reasons. While children placed in foster care have typically suffered from some form of child abuse or neglect, there are other reasons a child may be placed in foster care. Dependency, delinquency, or permanent surrender are other common reasons children wind up in the foster care system.
Laws Governing Foster Care in the United States
For children who are placed into foster care, there are laws that exist to regulate what happens to them. State governments are primarily responsible for the administration and oversight of child protective services (CPS), and therefore, many rules and regulations governing the provision of services to children in the foster care vary from state to state. However, states must comply with federal child welfare laws in order to be eligible for federal funding.
One federal law, the Adoptions and Safe Family Act of 1997, establishes a time line for reunification of children in foster care with their birth families. The law requires agencies to seek alternative forms of permanency for children who remain in the foster care system for 15 out of 22 consecutive months. It is important to note that some states have established more stringent guidelines for seeking permanency for children in foster care.
Foster and Adoptive Parents
Foster parents play a vital role in the child welfare system. They provide foster children with a temporary home while their family receives services to assist with the goal of reunification. When reunification is not an obtainable outcome, some foster children may be adopted.
Foster and adoptive parents are required to complete a thorough home study assessment, including a background check, prior to being licensed or approved to care for children who are wards of the state.
When a child enters foster care, she will typically undergo a needs assessment that is used to match her with a foster home best suited to meet her needs. Foster parents will ideally be involved in the child's case planning and support the agency's efforts towards reunification.
Case Planning and Service Delivery
After a child is deemed to be unsafe in his own home, the state or county agency will work with the family to perform a comprehensive assessment of the family's need for services. Once the family's needs are determined, a case plan is developed to outline the services the family will receive as they work toward reunification.
The public children services agency (PCSA) is responsible for case planning, linking the family to services, monitoring the family's progress, and eliminating any barriers that may prevent the family from achieving their case plan goals. The juvenile court system is responsible for overseeing the PCSA's reasonable efforts and making the ultimate determination of when a child is safe to return home.
Adoption
In situations where reunification is not achieved, the juvenile court must make a ruling regarding the termination of parental rights. If parental rights are terminated the child is placed in the permanent custody of the state or local agency. Adoption is the preferred permanency plan for a child in permanent custody.
Adoption is the creation of a new set of parental rights for the adoptive parents. The reason adoption is viewed as the best permanency option is because it provides the child with the opportunity to be loved and accepted into a family that will meet her needs as well as providing a home for her to return to after becoming an adult. Typically, foster parents are given the first opportunity to adopt.
Other Permanency Options
Sometimes, for a variety of factors such as the age of the child, and his bonds with his biological family, adoption is not in the best interest of a child in foster care. One alternative is a Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (PPLA), or "long-term foster care." PPLA is when the court approves for a child in foster care to remain in the care and custody of the state or county agency until he reaches adulthood. PPLA is often the preferred permanency option for older children who are placed in a stable foster home, and for whom termination of parental rights is not in the child's best interest.
Another, increasingly popular, permanency option for children in foster care is granting legal custody to a relative or significant other, such as a family friend, without terminating parental rights. This allows children to grow up knowing their family of origin, and often, living in their own community and attending the same school. Relatives are typically required to complete a home study assessment process prior to this judicial determination.
Emancipation, or "aging out" of foster care, is yet another possibility of permanency for teens. If a teenage child does not wish to be adopted, or if no adoptive home is identified, the child may age out of the foster care system. In some situations, a child may be in a PPLA prior to emancipation at age 18, or 21 if the child has a mental or physical disability. When a child exits foster care at age 18 or 21, he is eligible for a variety of grants, scholarships and other services to help him smoothly transition from the foster care system to independent living.
