Foster Care is Child Abandonment

Regardless how a child comes into foster care, it is child abandonment.  The parent either gives up or loses custody of their child, by failing to provide proper care for their child.  Rarely does a child become an orphan, where no relative or friend will step in to care for the child.  Generally, children in foster care are removed from the home for safety and health issues.  It then becomes the responsibility of the parent to follow all court orders and recommendations of the case worker in order to regain full, unsupervised custody. 

Drug use, dealing or other drug related activities or incarceration in jail or prison, is a choice made by the parents, which will result in the loss of parental rights.

• Police remove children from home for drug activity
• State may remove child on Failure to Thrive or Neglect issues  (see state rules and guidelines)
• Parents voluntarily give children to state
• State places child in foster care when no family member is available to care for children whose parents are incarcerated or are unable to care for them
• Foster care begins as a temporary solution
• Parents of children in foster care are required to meet; sometimes it is permanent
• Parents must meet certain standards to get their children back
• Parents are allowed to fail but within a specific time frame
• In the past, parents could have all the time in the world, all the chances to correct their behaviors, while the children languished in foster care until they were 18.
• Parents are expected to complete a reunification plan in a timely manner so they are reunited
• Parents are expected to visit their child's foster home
• Parents are expected to show up for appointments on time and keep all appointments
• If parents don't meet the requirements in a timely manner the state may sever parental rights
• Children are then placed for adoption
• Older children will languish in foster care until they turn 18
• Foster children move from home to home as care givers move out of state or give up caring for children