Foster Care & Adoption

Foster care and adoption are two different types of family placement options for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or other safety concerns.

Foster care is a temporary placement in which children are placed in a licensed foster home or other care facility until they can be reunited with their birth parents or placed with an adoptive family. While in foster care, children receive necessary care and support, and their birth parents are given the opportunity to address the issues that led to their removal in order to regain custody of their children.

Adoption, on the other hand, is a permanent placement option where legal rights and responsibilities of the birth parents are terminated and transferred to the adoptive parents. It happens when it is determined that the child cannot return to their birth parents and the child is placed with an adoptive family with the goal of creating a permanent family relationship.

Both foster care and adoption are overseen by child welfare agencies, which work to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in their care. Adoption may involve private adoption agencies, or it can be done through the foster care system.