Foster Child

Being a foster child means being removed from one's birth family, voluntarily or involuntarily. It means spending anywhere from a few months to a few years with a family that has no legal responsibility over you. It means lacking a sense of permanency and it can be a confusing time that requires a child to make many adult decisions. It requires great amounts of coping with complicated emotions and being vulnerable and open to a world that seems unfair and out of control.

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Choosing to take in a foster child as a foster parent can be challenging simply due to the fact that you'll be caring for a child who is neither biologically related to you nor likely to stay for any extended period of time. It differs from an adoptive situation, in which an adoptable individual or siblings are placed in a home with the intent of becoming a permanent family member. In some cases, a child may end up becoming available for adoption while in the foster care system and the foster family will have the option to adopt him or her. Just over half of all foster parents choose to adopt an adoptable foster child. Children who become available while in the foster system stay, on average, a year longer than those who are reunited with their family members. They are also one to two years younger than other children when they enter foster care. This situation presents itself to about a fourth of the 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system. About half of those children in foster care are reunited with their birth families. Reuniting birth families with children is the main goal of the foster system. However, only about half of all foster cases are resolved between the birth parents and the courts.

The average child to enter the foster care system is about seven years old and the average of a child to leave foster care is around nine years old, according the most recent report by the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. There are slightly more males than females in the foster system and the racial distribution is predominantly black and Caucasian.

Choosing to foster a child is a decision made with the same love and commitment as raising a biological child. Contact your local public agency if you're interested in becoming a foster parent or adopting a child from the foster care system.