Child fostering (Children in foster care)

Children across the world are separated from their families and put into alternative care arrangements as a result of a number of destabilizing and disruptive occurrences. In response and in accordance with international guidelines and regulations, national institutions have established several formal and informal structures to provide for these children. 

Understanding child fostering 

Child fostering is a formal alternative care arrangement during which a responsible authority places children in a domestic environment of a family that is not their own. The appointed ‘foster’ family is identified, vetted and approved as the responsible provider of care for the child for a defined period. 

Child fostering is distinguished from formal adoption by its lack of permanency; legal responsibility for the child’s wellbeing remains, at least partially, with the local authority that facilitated the foster arrangement (UNICEF, 2022).

Guiding Principles of Alternative Care

Child fostering is one form of a broader category of alternative care support mechanisms. As such, the implementation of foster arrangements is subjected to the same oversight infrastructure and guidelines as other alternative care pathways. The United Nations (UN) Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children provide a framework to ensure that children who are temporarily or permanently deprived of parental care receive appropriate and protective care. 

This care is provided in a family-based or residential setting outside the child’s immediate family. The guidelines aim to promote the protection and well-being of children who require alternative care by providing clear standards and principles for states and organizations involved in child welfare. 

UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children emphasize the following main principles (UN General Assembly, 2010): 

  1. Necessity principle: ensuring alternative care is used only when it is necessary and after all the efforts to prevent the separation of children from their birth parents have been made and exhausted. 
  1. Suitability principle: ensuring that the type and quality of alternative care provided are appropriate for the individual needs and best interests of the child. 
  1. Family-based care: prioritizing family-based care options such as kinship care (led by family members or close family friends of the child), foster care or adoption over institutionalized or residential care. 
  1. Support for families: providing adequate support to families to prevent the need for alternative care and reintegrating children with their families whenever possible. Conditions solely attributable to poverty should never be a reason for the removal of a child from parental care, placing a child into alternative care or preventing the child from reintegration with their birth parents. Instead, poverty should be recognized as an indication that the family needs appropriate support. 
  1. Best interests of the child: ensuring that all decisions and actions regarding alternative care prioritize the rights and best interests of the child, including the right to participate in decisions affecting their lives in line with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  
  1. Protection from abuse and exploitation: ensuring that children in alternative care are protected from all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation. 
  1. Temporary nature: understanding that alternative care arrangements should be temporary, with a focus on finding permanent solutions for the child, such as reunification with their birth families or adoption. 
  1. Cultural and social considerations: respecting all alternative care arrangements regarding the child’s cultural, religious, and social background, and ensuring that these aspects are considered in their placement. 

Reasons children need foster care

There are several reasons why children need to go into foster care. Often, these reasons are related to the safety, well-being and best interests of the child. Some of the primary reasons driving foster arrangements include: 

Neglect 

There are many different types of neglect that result in a child being taken into foster, these include: emotional neglect, medical neglect, and chronic neglect. Emotional neglect occurs when a parent/caregiver fails to provide emotional support, attention and affection to their child. 

Medical neglect involves instances when a parent/caregiver fails to provide appropriate medical care or treatment for their child’s health needs, in turn putting them at risk of serious harm or suffering. Chronic neglect is when a child’s basic needs such as food, clean water, shelter, medical care and education are not being met (Foster Care, 2024). 

Abuse

There are many different forms of domestic child abuse that can lead to a child being taken into foster care, these include: emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse. Similar to emotional neglect, emotional abuse can be challenging to prove. It includes shouting, belittling, bullying or making a child feel unsafe, among other forms of non-physical aggression. Physical abuse is one of the most common forms of abuse that can cause a child to be taken into foster care. It involves the physical injury of a child through hitting, beating, shaking, burning, biting or any other forms of physical force exerted by someone in close contact with the child. 

Sexual abuse refers to the partaking of sexual acts for the gratification of the perpetrator. This includes rape, molestation, prostitution or pornography, indecent exposure or inappropriate touching, among other offenses (Foster Care, 2024). Exposure to domestic abuse can pose significant mental and physical risks to children, making it necessary to remove them from that environment (Foster Care, 2024). 

Parental substance abuse 

Parents struggling with alcohol or drug addiction may be unable to provide a safe and stable environment for their child (Foster Care, 2024). 

Mental health 

Parents battling mental health challenges may experience impaired judgement rendering them unable to provide adequate care for their child (Foster Care, 2024). 

Abandonment or parental absence 

Children who have been abandoned by their parents de facto require new support and supervision. Relevant authorities may provide these children with a foster placement when this option is in their best interests and pending a concrete decision on their long-term care plan. 

Similarly, in situations where a parent is unable to care for their child due to deployment, job relocation or other temporary issues that cause them to be absent from their child’s life, relevant authorities may ensure that a suitable foster placement is found for a temporary period (Foster Care, 2024). 

Incarceration of parents 

If parents have been incarcerated and there are no suitable relatives for the child to live with, a suitable foster care placement will be found for the child (Foster Care, 2024). 

Serious illness or death of parents

When parents are unable to care for their children due to a serious illness or hospitalization, foster care may be needed to provide immediate support (Foster Care, 2024). 

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children 

Foster care for unaccompanied minors refers to the placement of children who arrive in a country without their parents or legal guardians into a temporary family-based care environment. These minors are typically refugees, asylum seekers or migrants who have fled their home countries due to war, persecution, sexual or physical violence, torture, natural disaster or other crises. 

A majority of child asylum-seekers come from countries that have experienced widespread civilian unrest or conflict. In recent years this includes countries such as: Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Vietnam, Albania, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq (FosterTalk, n,d). 

Behavioural issues 

Also known as ‘voluntary’ foster care, this primarily occurs when a parent is unable or unwilling to continue to care for their child. These reasons can range from runaway children, truancy or juvenile offenders (Foster Care, 2024). 

Types of fostering placements 

There are several types of foster placements that ensure a child or group of children’s needs are met. 

Short-term fostering

Short-term fostering, also known as temporary fostering, involves placing a child with a foster family for a set period, which can range from a few days to a maximum of two years before a child is returned to their birth family or a more suitable long-term placement. 

During the duration of the placement, relevant authorities determine what type of living arrangements would be in the best interests of the child and whether it is appropriate to return to their birth families or to a long-term placement or a prospective adoptive family (Barnardo’s, 2024). 

There are several reasons why children need short-term foster placements. These include awaiting a decision on a long-term placement or whether it is appropriate to return to their birth parents, court proceedings, issues relating to child protection, abuse or neglect, and laboured care plan decisions and assessments, among others (Barnardo’s, 2024). 

Long-term fostering 

Long-term fostering, also known as permanent foster care, is a placement where a child will remain in the care of the foster family until they reach adulthood, because they are unable to return to their birth family and adoption is not possible. Initially, most children in need enter into short-term accommodation while decisions are being made about their future. 

If a judge determines they cannot return to their birth parents, then they are moved to a long-term foster placement. Foster parents do not have full legal responsibility over the child and instead, the responsibility falls on the relevant local authority (Barnardo’s, 2024). 

There are several notable advantages of long-term foster placements for children. In particular, longer durations of care provide children with a consistent, stable environment and a sense of permanency as they grow up (Barnardo’s, 2024). 

Emergency fostering 

Emergency foster placements involve placing a child who is at risk of immediate danger in a temporary home, often on very short notice. In such urgent circumstances, the child’s safety is the priority, and there is typically no time for introductions between the child and the foster family. 

There are several reasons why a child might need emergency foster placement, these include: being exposed or victim to violence, abuse or neglect, being at risk of a severe accident, legal issues involving law enforcement, or a parent/guardian has health or addiction problems or is deceased (National Fostering Group, 2024). 

Respite fostering 

Respite foster care is a temporary placement that provides a short-term break for primary foster parents or birth families. This type of placement can last a few hours, or a few days and it is designed to provide primary foster parents or birth families a break from their caregiving responsibilities or time to deal with personal matters. 

This sort of placement usually takes place during the school holidays or over weekends. During these placements, the child’s safety and needs are prioritized (Barnardo’s, 2024).  

Remand fostering 

A remand foster placement is a court-related placement provided to children who are awaiting a court date for an alleged offense. This type of foster care provides a structured and supportive family environment as an alternative to being held in custody or in a juvenile detention facility. 

Children who come into remand foster placements may be under strict bail conditions and are required to attend court dates and meetings with relevant authorities who support them. Remand fostering provides children with stability and support to navigate their legal proceedings (National Fostering Group, 2024). 

Supported lodging 

Supported lodging is a type of foster care placement for children typically between the ages of 16 to 21, who are transitioning out of traditional foster care or who are at risk of homelessness, to live with a host family/individual. 

Supported lodging provides children with a semi-independent living environment where they are supported with guidance on budgeting, cooking, finding employment or educational opportunities to prepare them to live independently (Barnardo’s, 2024). 

Fostering for adoption

Fostering to adopt is a type of placement where prospective adoptive parents foster a child with the intention of adopting them if and when the child becomes legally available for adoption. During this placement, the child lives with the foster parents while the social worker completes assessments and makes recommendations to the court regarding the child’s future. 

This placement aims to minimize the number of placements a child experiences, allowing the child to remain with their foster parents throughout the court process. If reunification with the birth family is not possible, the foster parents are given the opportunity to adopt the child (Barnardo’s, 2024). 

Fostering unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and and refugee children

Fostering for unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors aims to provide a nurturing and supportive family-based environment to care for vulnerable children. The key aspects of this type of foster placement include cultural sensitivity, reunification efforts, integration support, legal protection, health care and education, safety and stability (FosterTalk, n,d). 

Preventing children from entering into the foster system

The UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children emphasize that the foster system should be treated as a last resort. Prior to this, the Guidelines list several intervention areas that tackle the socio-economic, psychological and structural factors to support families and communities to ensure a safe and beneficial environment for children to develop in. These include:

Efforts to promote parental care

Primarily, states should make all possible efforts to ensure children are able to remain in the care of their parents. This includes putting in place measures to:

  1. Strengthen families – such as parenting educational courses and support groups, parent-child conflict groups and employment support groups which collectively aim to ensure parents have the means and know-how to care for their child (Action for Children, n,d). 
  2. Provide social services – these include services to alleviate parental burdens – such as day care, financial and housing assistance and treatment pathways for mental health struggles and substance abuse – as well as those designed to support children directly, such as provisions for children with disabilities and remedial services for victims of abuse. 
  3. Establish youth policies – these aim to support children with their development away from the home which in turn affects their experiences in the household. 

Efforts to strengthen communities

States should further ensure the provision of community-based and led prevention programmes to ensure communities are given a primary opportunity to support children at risk. The advantage of community – rather than state-led interventions – is that children are provided with support from an environment that is known to them, to avoid the disruption and associated harms that come with being extracted from your home setting. These interventions can include:

  1. Home visitation programmes – to provide parents with guidance and aim to address potential issues and vulnerabilities before they happen (What Works for Children’s Social Care, n,d).
  2. Community support networks – community groups and networks can allow a range of stakeholders to support parents in caring for their children. These groups enable parents to receive support from trusted individuals in familiar environments, often with less judgement and more understanding. 

Efforts to ensure adequate legislation and policy

States should also work to ensure legislation and policy is contemporary, culturally sensitive and in line with international guidance. The development of legislation to prevent the separation of families has been endorsed in Romania, citing the importance of integrated strategies to combine support services for parents with essential social services (UNICEF, 2023).

In addition to formal international guidelines, the NGO community has made significant efforts to develop cross-cutting guidance on implementing family separation principles. In 2022, a key guidance note was published, emphasizing the need to (The Alliance, 2023):

  1. Understand prevention measures at three levels: primary, addressing root causes before abuses; secondary, responding to specific risks; and tertiary, mitigating longer impacts of harm proactively. 
  2. Ensure a consistent framework for the prevention of alternative care which enables context-specific actions, the continuous monitoring of child welfare, community ownership and child-centred policy. 
  3. Contextualise prevention efforts within broader contexts: noting the difference, for instance, between the efforts required in conflict settings, for countries at different development stages and taking into account sociocultural norms, limitations and consequences.

Key international and legal instruments 

These conventions and guidelines provide a framework that emphasizes that states should invest in community-based care focused on children and families, develop and strengthen relevant laws, policies and programs, address the root causes to prevent unnecessary separation of children and their birth families. Some of the most significant legal instruments include: 

Written by Vanessa Cezarita Cordeiro 

Internally proofread by Aditi Partha 

Last updated on 28 July 2024 

References: 

Action for Children. (n,d). “Parenting support.” Retrieved from Action for Children, accessed on 1 September 2024. 

Barnardo’s. (2024). “Supported lodging for young people leaving care.” Retrieved from Barnardo’s, accessed on 10 July 2024. 

Barnardo’s. (2024). “Types of foster care.” Retrieved from Barnardo’s, accessed on 8 July 2024. 

Bezeczky, Z., El-Banna, A., Petrou, S., et al. (2020, April). “Intensive family preservation services to prevent out-of-home placement of children: A systemic review and meta-analysis.” Retrieved from National Library of Medicine, accessed on 2 September 2024. 

Cappa, C., Petrowski, N., Deliege, A., Khan, M. (2021, March 1). “Monitoring the situation of children living in residential care: data gaps and innovations.” Retrieved from Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies An International Interdisciplinary Journal for Research, Policy and Care, accessed on 8 July 2024. 

Foster Care. (2024). “Reasons for a child to be taken into care.” Retrieved from Foster Care, accessed on 19 July 2024. 

FosterTalk. (n,d). “Fostering unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people.” Retrieved from FosterTalk, accessed on 22 July 2024. 

National Fostering Group. (2024). “Types of foster care.” Retrieved from National Fostering Group, accessed on 10 July 2024. 

National Children’s Bureau. (n,d). “Supporting and strengthening families through early help – a rapid review of evidence.” Retrieved from National Children’s Bureau, accessed on 1 September 2024. 

PCIT International. (n,d). “What is parent-child interaction therapy?” Retrieved from PCIT International, accessed on 1 September 2024. 

The Alliance. (2022). “Guidance note: Primary prevention of family separation.” Retrieved from The Alliance for child protection in humanitarian action, accessed on 2 September 2024. 

UN General Assembly. (2010, February 24). “Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.” Retrieved from United Nations General Assembly, accessed on 17 July 2024. 

UNICEF. (2022). “Supporting foster care in Eastern and Southern Africa.” Retrieved from UNICEF, accessed on 22 July 2024. 

UNICEF. (2023, April 28). “UNICEF’s position on new legislation to prevent the separation of children from their families.” Retrieved from UNICEF, accessed on 2 September 2024. 

UNICEF. (n,d). “Development of foster care in the Europe and Central Asia Region.” Retrieved from UNICEF, accessed on 8 July 2024. 

Victim Support. (n,d). “Domestic abuse.” Retrieved from Victim Support, accessed on 1 September 2024. 

What works for children’s social care. (n,d). “Home visit programmes.” Retrieved from What works for children’s social care, accessed on 1 September 2024.