Information will be mailed to you. Children are placed in foster care due to abuse, neglect, or other circumstances that render their present living situation unsafe and detrimental to their welfare. Family foster care is a temporary situation where children live with a family while problems in their biological family are resolved. Adoption is permanent and gives the adoptive parents the legal rights to a child. Foster families and adoptive families are diverse in their desire and ability to care for children.
Some foster families wish to provide foster care only.
Other families are only interested in adopting a child and do not wish to have a child placed with them until the child's biological parent's rights have been terminated. For a child to be available for adoption, legal rights must be terminated either voluntarily by the biological parent or by a court order. Other families serve as foster families, but choose to adopt a child who may be in their care and becomes available for adoption. Still other families, although they seek adoption, agree to care for children as a foster parent with the possibility that the child's biological parent's rights will eventually be terminated. Adoptive parents can be married or single, own or rent a home or apartment, and may or may not have children.