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The Aftermath of Foster Care

© Dena Standley

Foster care ends for a child when they are reunited with their birth family, adopted or reach adulthood. It is always a traumatic event for a child. Even when the end of foster care is much anticipated it is still a huge adjustment for the children.

When the plan is for a child to be reunited with a birth family there are many issues involved. How long was the child in foster care? What were the reasons the child was placed in care? Have all those things been resolved in the home? Some children spend years in care and return to situations that are virtually the same in their birth family. When this happens we have to question why the children were removed from their home in the first place and subjected to the lack of permanency that exist in foster care.

I think that there is a tendency to negate the effect of foster care on children. Our system needs more checks and balances to make sure that the trauma of foster care placement is justified by the perceived danger to a child in the home. In a perfect world, every child would have a warm, loving and secure environment. Unfortunately, the world isn't like that.

Foster care also ends when a child is put in an adoptive placement. I have seen many beautiful families, including my own, created this way. Adoption is often the next move after birth parents have had their parental rights terminated. This happens because the parents were unable or unwilling to correct the problems in their lives that led to their children being placed in foster care. It is usually a very long process from the time a child enters care.

Adoption offers a child the sense of permanency that is missing in foster care. It also brings its own set of challenges. The child is often adopted by the foster family. This makes the transition to adoption easier because this a family that is already familiar to the child and the family has the advantage of knowing this child well and knowing about any special needs the child may have. When the foster family does not adopt the child is then placed on a state or national registry and a suitable family is sought.

There are a shortage of suitable adoptive homes for these children. They are often older children, sibling groups, children with special physical needs or children who are suffering the emotional aspects of abuse/neglect and years spent in foster care. It takes a strong commitment by an adoptive family to give what these children need. For those who make the commitment, the rewards are worth it.

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