Foster Care
When a child's safety is threatened at home, foster care may be a necessary first remedy, but moving the child back into a stable home or an independent situation is crucial for his or her long-term happiness and success.
Why is This Important?
The term "foster care" refers to a variety of living situations in which a child may be placed because the family living situation is unsafe. Typically a child will be removed from his or her home because of severe abuse or neglect. The goal, where possible, is to make the home a safe and stable living environment to which the child can return. When that is not possible, however, the goal may be for the child to be adopted into a safe and nurturing home, or, with older youth, to be able to live independently.
It is important that the length of time spent in foster care be as brief as possible, with the child moving quickly to a stable, supportive environment. Children who age out of the foster care system without achieving a permanent home environment face lifetime challenges that are particularly pronounced.
How is Virginia Doing?
Nationally, the foster care rate has declined from 7.5 per 1,000 children in 2000 to 7.0 in 2006. During this same period, Virginia's rate has increased from 3.9 to 4.3 per 1,000 -- fourth best in the nation. Virginia had a lower rate of children in foster care relative to its peer states. In 2006, per 1,000 children aged 17 and under in the state, North Carolina had 5.1, Tennessee had 6 and Maryland had 7.8 in foster care. Utah had the best rate in the nation at 3 per 1,000.
Within Virginia, the Northern region consistently has the lowest rates, while the Southwest, West Central and Valley regions have the highest rates.
While Virginia overall has a very low rate of children in foster care, the Commonwealth ranks first among the states in the percent of youth (22.5 percent) who age out of foster care. It ranks fourth from last in the average waiting time between termination of rights from original guardians and finalization of adoption. Virginia's average wait time of 20.9 months means that children who have lost their parents average more time in foster care than their peers in other states. Wyoming led the states with an average time of only 5.5 months.
By law, adoptions in Virginia are not considered final until 3 months after the initial adoption date to allow social workers time to observe the compatibility of the new parent-child relationship. This law automatically makes Virginia's waiting time longer. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Maryland all had shorter average wait times than Virginia at 10.4 months, 8.9 months, and 15.8 months respectively.
What Influences Foster Care?
The primary driver for children entering foster care is maltreatment. Child abuse and neglect are not confined to any particular socioeconomic class, race or ethnicity, or religion. However, some situations place children at greater risk for being abused or neglected, including parent history, family violence, isolation and poverty. An important factor in avoiding foster care is the availability of effective support services to intervene when child abuse and neglect are found, so that the child does not have to be removed from the home.
Inadequate foster care maintenance payments negatively affect foster parent recruitment and retention. When child welfare systems cannot adequately maintain a pool of foster homes, children are often moved from foster home to foster home or placed in an institutional setting. A 2007 study, “Hitting the M.A.R.C.: Establishing Foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children,” calculated that Virginia’s rates were, on average, 55% lower than the recommended minimum adequate rates. In a comparison of Virginia and its peer states in 2007, Virginia had the lowest per-month reimbursement payments for children age 2 and 9 ($368 and $431, respectively), and the second lowest for children age 16 ($546) after North Carolina ($490).
What is the State's Role?
Foster care services include:
- recruiting and training foster parents
- brokering services to support families and prevent the removal of children from home
- working with the court on removal when necessary
- developing a service plan to reunify the family or take other appropriate action to ensure that the child is in a safe and stable home environment.
Data and Definitions
State Data:
Department of Health
and Human Services, Children's Bureau,
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and
Reporting System, 2005
www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm
Child Welfare League of America, National Data
Analysis System
ndas.cwla.org/
“Hitting the M.A.R.C. Establishing
Foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children.” Technical
Report. October, 2007. Children’s
Rights, National Foster Parent Association
and the University of Maryland, School of
Social Work.
www.childrensrights.org/policy-projects/foster-care/hitting-the-marc-foster-care-reimbursement-rates/
Locality data:
Virginia Department of
Social Services, Foster Care Reports
www.dss.virginia.gov/geninfo/reports/children/fc/
See the Data Sources and Updates Calendar for a detailed list of the data resources used for indicator measures on Virginia Performs.
