Foster parenting, or foster care, is a way of providing a temporary home for children who need a safe and stable environment where all their needs can be met. For some parents, social, economic, or health problems can interfere with their ability to provide a safe home for their children.
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So, a temporary home and family might be the best solution for the child while the parents sort out their issues. Also, children who are neglected or abused may need a temporary solution until a better, more permanent home can be found for them, so foster care may help.
The Solution—Foster Care
Foster care provides a safe, nurturing, and loving environment for children whose parents cannot fulfill their needs. The placement of children in foster care is usually supervised by local government or social service agencies.
After foster care, the children may return to their birth parents if their problems have been resolved. If not, the children can be put up for adoption or they can simply move on independently when they come of age.
Foster parents are required to be healthy and financially stable. In some countries, they are also required to undergo training that teaches them the basics of fostering. Foster parents are also given a fostering allowance to help them meet the financial requirements of fostering children. The amount of the allowance depends on the number of foster children, their age, and the type of care being provided.
Fostering versus Adoption
There are two main differences between fostering and adoption: permanency and parental rights. Fostering is temporary and may last from a few days to several years. While the foster parents take care of the child’s day-to-day requirements, all the legal rights pertaining to the child remain with the birth parents (although the state manages them). These rights influence educational, medical, and religious decisions for the child.
On the other hand, adoption is a permanent responsibility, just like parenting a biological child. Adoptive parents possess all the parental rights and may raise the children in whatever way they want. In addition, while fostering includes a fostering allowance, adoption is an out-of-pocket expense that includes the adoption fees and the full cost of rearing a child.
Foster Care System Pros and Cons
Fostering has benefits for both the foster parents and foster children. Foster care allows children to enjoy all the comforts of having a home and family, which they may not have elsewhere. Being safe helps children cope with life’s difficulties.
Also, research shows that children’s academic performance improves once they are taken into foster care. Furthermore, their academic performance continues to improve the longer they remain in foster care.
Fostering also allows foster parents to experience all the joys of parenting without having as much responsibility. For example, finances may be a major reason why couples do not start a family, but fostering parenting gives some people a chance to be parents without the financial burden.
In fact, fostering is quite financially rewarding. The fostering allowance not only covers all the children’s expenses, but it also includes a professional fee for the parents’ services, which further eases the financial burden.
On the other hand, foster parenting has a few cons as well. Before coming into foster care, children may have developed some undesirable behaviors due to bad parenting or other influences, and they might bring those negative influences into the foster home.
However, with responsible parenting, such issues can be solved. Of course, this will require some serious effort from the foster parents, but it is worthwhile. Secondly, since fostering is only temporary, the foster parents and foster children will eventually have to say goodbye. Leaving a foster home can be difficult if a bond has been established.
People who want to influence society positively should consider foster parenting. The future of any society lies in the hands of its children, so what could be better than helping to raise happy, confident, and responsible children when their own parents can’t?
References
- “Being in Foster Care Found to Benefit Vulnerable Young People’s Education.” University of Oxford. November 30, 2015. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2X9CUwc
- Craft, Carrie. “The Differences between Foster Care and Adoption.” Verywell Family. May 29, 2018. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2X9K5UV
