Category: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

What Is the Racial Composition of Foster Kids Compared to the Population in the US?

in Administration for Children and Families, Child Poverty, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care, Foster Care Agencies, Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Foster Parent Recruiting, Kinship care, May is Foster Care Month, Mother’s Day, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The highlighted categories in the table above are racial demographics overrepresented in the foster kid population. This signals that there needs to be a change in how foster care is managed. Fortunately, the Social Work community and all US States (that we have spoken to) generally agree on solution steps like reducing child poverty, emphasizing…
How Many Kids Are in Foster Care in the US? Top States

in Administration for Children and Families, Child Poverty, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care, Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), May is Foster Care Month, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

As we celebrate 2023 May National Foster Care month, here is the latest publicly available data. In 2021, an estimated 391,098 children were in foster care in the United States. This number has been steadily declining in recent years, but there is still a significant number of children living without a permanent home. See AFCARS…
Therapeutic vs. Traditional Foster Care

in Administration for Children and Families, as volunteer, Become a Foster Parent, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care, Foster Care Agencies, Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Foster Parents, Therapeutic Fostering

Broadly there are two categories of foster kids. Traditional Foster Care involves caring for children who are “normal” kids not dis-similar to kids from a regular biological household in terms of behavioral issues. Therapeutic (or Treatment) foster kids are kids that need a higher level of care and attention to help resolve the trauma that…
Why plan a party: May is National Foster Care Month

in Administration for Children and Families, as volunteer, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care Research, Foster Parents, Kinship care, Motivation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

May is National Foster Care Month. And it’s a great idea for Foster Parents to plan a party with Birth (Biological) Parents of the foster child. This can work wonders for foster kids where reunification is a possibility. Reunification is a core goal of the 2022 National Foster Care Month.
Who says “I love you ” on Mother’s Day?

in Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care, May is Foster Care Month, Mother’s Day, Permanency, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May coincides with the National Foster Care Month. This year it is on Sunday May 8, 2022. So it’s timely to think of ways how everyone can celebrate Mother’s Day in the Foster Care ecosystem by saying “I love you.” But first some background.
Kinship Foster Care: Why Culture is important

in Become a Foster Parent, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care, Foster Kid’s home culture, Kinship care

We are delighted to celebrate the first anniversary of StartFosterCare.org and the May 2022 National Foster Care month. Kinship connections and stronger families is a focus of this year’s foster care month.See the Children’s Bureau and Child Welfare Information Gateway website.In this post we explain why culture is important to the foster child.
Why Foster Parent Training Matters

in Administration for Children and Families, Become a Foster Parent, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care, Foster Care Agencies, Foster Care Research, Foster Parents, Motivation, Therapeutic Fostering, Training, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The foster parent recruitment process involves compulsory foster parent training. It is after training that a foster parent becomes a licensed foster parent in a US state. This is an important professional credential for us at StartFosterCare.org. As social work/foster care professionals always explain at StartFosterCare meetings, there are different levels of needs of foster…
Foster to Adopt: Start with Love

in Adoption, Become a Foster Parent, Foster Care, Foster Care Agencies, Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Foster Parents, Motivation, Permanency

If you are thinking of becoming a foster parent with the intention of adopting the foster child. We have three words for you this holiday season: Start with Love.
Thank you Dr. John- Foster Care Institute

in Administration for Children and Families, Become a Foster Parent, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau, Foster Care, Foster Care Agencies, Foster Parents

We are so proud that Dr. John has put out a recommendation for us to Foster Care professionals in both US State Governments and Foster Agencies across US States. We specialize in the front end of recruiting quality prospective foster parents through technology. And its important for foster care professionals and foster parents to know…
Don’t Confuse Foster Care with Adoption

in Adoption, Become a Foster Parent, Foster Care, Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Foster Parents

For those not deeply familiar with the Child Welfare System there is a common confusion that Foster Care is somehow similar to Adoption. Multiple website’s content from different folks often use the terms interchangeably. Since this adversely affects the recruitment and work of foster parents we wish to clarify for all prospective foster parents out…