Foster Care
Children are born into their circumstances by chance, not by choice.
For some, the conditions are so dire that they find themselves in foster care.
Ohio has approximately 14,000 children in the foster care system. These children are placed temporarily with foster parents who provide a safe and stable place to grow and cope with complex feelings and trauma.
National Foster Care Statistics
- Nearly 250,000 children cared for by the foster care system
- The primary reasons for placement are abuse and neglect
- Average time spent in care 22 ½ months
- 38% of children adopted out of foster care waited more than 1 year to be adopted; more than half of them were over age 6
- More than 18,000 youth were emancipated out of care without a permanent family
FAQs
Foster care is temporary care for a child who has been removed from the home of his/her biological family due to abuse or neglect. The child remains in foster care until it is safe to reunify them with their birth parents or other family members–whether it takes a few weeks or a few years. Foster parents provide a nurturing, stable home for a child until they can return to their birth family or are placed in a permanent adoptive home. Foster care allows displaced children to live in a family setting and live a relatively normal life during their childhood. Children service agencies place a child in foster care while they work to stabilize the biological family. Through this process, foster parents assume physical custody and provide for the child’s day-to-day care.
Foster parents are individuals or couples who are willing and able to care for an abused, neglected, or dependent child who has been removed from their biological family. They go through a training process and become licensed by the state of Ohio (Indiana and Kentucky have similar processes) in conjunction with a public child welfare agency or private child placing network to parent children who have been displaced from their biological family due to maltreatment.
Children in foster care range in age from infant to 18 years. Most have been abused, neglected or abandoned, and some have special medical needs. Many may be struggling with emotional, behavioral, or mental health issues. Some are siblings who need to be placed together. Foster parents have the final say in determining whether a particular child is appropriate for their family.
Children range in age from newborn to 18 but more than half of the children are seven years of age and older. Many foster children struggle with emotional, behavioral or mental health issues. Often they are part of a sibling group that wants to stay together.
Foster Parents are licensed to care for children temporarily while their biological parent(s) works with the child welfare agency on a case plan designed to address concerns preventing the child from safely remaining with them in their home. An adoptive parent is licensed by the state of Ohio to become the permanent parents of a child who has been placed for adoption by their biological parent(s) or who has been permanently removed from their biological parent(s). Foster Parents may have the chance to adopt a child if they become available for adoption, but primarily operate as temporary caregivers for children who are unsafe in their own home due to abuse, neglect, or other serious safety concerns.