Children with severe behavioral or medical problems are placed in a residential treatment facility. Foster parents work directly for DPRS or for agencies with which the agency contracts for residential care. Medical services for foster children are covered by Medicaid. As for legal costs, county or district attorneys represent DPRS in court. An attorney ad litem, usually a lawyer in private practice, is appointed for each child.
State law requires every foster child's case to be reviewed periodically in court.
Judges monitor the progress of the case and eventually rule on whether the birth parents are fit to resume caring for their children. Foster parents not only provide parenting and temporary shelter but attend school, medical, therapy and court appointments involving the children. Not surprisingly, foster parents often grow close to their charges. Of the foster kids who become eligible for adoption, about half are adopted by their foster families. One of the most highly debated aspects of foster care is the problem of children sometimes lingering in the system and being moved around to various foster homes.