Foster Children

Foster children, sometimes referred to as waiting children, are children who, to no fault of their own, have been removed from their homes, and are part of the United States foster care system. Children in foster care are usually older children. The average age of foster children is nine. Many of these children are teenagers or pre-teens. More than 50% are members of minority cultures. Approximately 40% are siblings who need to be in the same foster home and adopted as a group to stay together. Many have physical, mental and emotional problems, often referred to as "special needs". Most children in foster care have emotional problems, resulting from circumstances beyond their control, such as abuse, neglect, abandonment and the lack of permanency in their lives. All need, and deserve the love and security of a permanent family.

The majority of children in foster care are in foster homes. They live with trained and licensed foster parents, and become part of that family's community on a temporary basis. They go to school, play in the neighborhood, and participate in community activities.

A small number of older children in foster care are in group homes where they live with other children under the supervision of adult caretakers. They attend community schools and participate in activities in their neighborhoods.

Occasionally, a child in foster care may have a severe emotional or behavioral problem that requires placement in a residential treatment facility for a short period of time. These children live in the facility and do not participate in activities of the larger community.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act requires that state adoption agencies expedite, in a timely manner, termination of parental rights for foster children who can not be returned to their own families. This federal law has made it possible for more children in foster care to be placed in permanent homes through adoption, and foster adoption.

Adoptable Kids is a great place to find out more about foster children, the process of adopting a foster child, and to see photographs and descriptions of foster children that are legally free for adoption.