Does a convicted sex offender deserve the right to parent his child in foster care? Would it have an impact if the victim was an underaged or developmentally delayed person? Should this have an impact on whether a parent can get their child back from being in foster care?

A baby girl was placed in foster care three weeks after her birth because social workers decided the parents had a limited grasp of the medical needs of their daughter. Their daughter was born with severe heart defects, a cleft lip and mild cerebral palsy. The mother threw a chair after seeing her baby... more

Parent pushing the “safe haven” law envelope by leaving a toddler believed to be between 12 to 18 months old in a hospital parking lot. The Delaware “safe haven” law allows a parent to relinquish a newborn (no more than 14 days old) at an emergency room and giving the child directly to a hospital employee.

This little boy was dressed in clean clothing, sitting on a parking lot curb, and crying when a nurse returning from lunch discovered the abandoned boy. The boy was comforted by the nurse until she gave him to the hospital security.

A note was found on the toddler by the state... more

This is something that I hear from time to time. I have even had people point blank ask me if I did it for the money. To me, this is very comical since it is the farthest thing from the truth. The truth is the majority of foster parents do not make money by providing foster care, they go into the negative.

In California the cost of raising a child today is $750 a month and the foster care payment is about $494 a month. Some states do not pay that much for foster care, some even pay around $250 or below. The reality is that the state and society is not fully supporting children in foster care and... more

How many chances should biological parents get to parent children they have abused and/or neglected? When do the rights and best interest of the children come first? Do some biological parents deserve additional help when they are working towards reunification with their children?

A 25 year old mother in Cincinnati first investigation with Children’s Services was in 2003 when her oldest child was sent to live with his maternal grandfather.

Less than a year later county prosecutor tried to remove the children due to her second oldest son had to have the tip of his finger... more

The National Council for Adoption did a survey in February 2007 concerning the general public’s view of the foster care system. The survey posed a number of questions about the entire foster care system from monies, support to biological parents, prevention of abuse, etc.

The public has a negative view of the federal government’s foster care policies and practices. Over half of the surveyed people feel that abused and neglected children are not being served by the current polices and practices.

The public was surprised to learn that two-thirds... more

While every state struggles with the need of more foster families and even people willing to adopt, there is no easy way for the states to finding love and safety for these children. A movement involving churches have brought in much needed foster parents. The foster system is in such great need of foster parents, that this is just a drop in the bucket to what is needed. This has left states looking for help and care of foster children in unconventional places.

San Francisco Department of Human Services is looking for help from the gay and lesbian community to help with their lack of homes for... more

The state of Louisiana's foster care system and foster parents are still feeling the effects of the hurricanes from the past. The state has lost many foster parents, because they have moved or lost their home where they provided care to foster children.

Louisiana was already struggling with a lack of foster homes before the hurricanes, and now they are left scrambling to provide care to the children in their care. The basic care rate for a foster child in Louisiana is $374 per month and they hope to increase it to $510 per month. They hope by increasing... more

In Marion County, Oregon, the child welfare has set up two historic houses in Salem for biological parents to visit with their children living in foster care. The visitation houses are unique in Oregon, only 6 of 36 counties have similar sites.

The visitation houses are used with families that have worked up to the gradual reunification and it is believed the families will succeed. The home atmosphere is believed to help with this process.

When parents and their children who have been living apart due to drugs, violence or neglect can reconnect in a home-like atmosphere there are benefits. When a... more

Some people looking to adopted children in Canada do not realize how many foster children are waiting to be adopted.

There are over 9,000 foster children waiting for their forever families.

They are using Adoption Resource Exchange in the hopes that more people learn of the children needing forever homes and also to get exposure for their older or hard to place children. They are also have a website called AdoptOntario where they feature their hard to place children. They have had great success with using both of the tools to feature their children and finding them adoptive families. Hard to place children can mean anything from... more

To add to the foster care crisis that Texas is already dealing with, and at a loss of a permanent solution. The Texas Youth Commission that been providing care for about 100 foster children who are struggling with their own problems and they will be looking to return custody of these foster children back to CPS.

Now CPS will also be trying to find foster home placements or residential treatment centers to the foster children coming out of the Texas Youth Commission. What will this do to a system that is already struggling to meet the needs of children coming into caring?

The continued drug abuse of our country is placing such a stress on our crippled foster care system.... more