Foster Care

What is Foster Care?

Foster care (also known as out-of-home care) is a temporary service provided by States for children who cannot live with their families. Children in foster care may live with their relatives or with unrelated foster parents. Foster care can also refer to placement settings such as group homes, residential care facilities, emergency shelters, and supervised independent living. (https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/foster-care/)

Currently, in the City of Philadelphia, there are approximately 5,000 children and youth receiving foster care services.

View national statistics in the link below from the American Society for the Positive Care of Children

Types of Foster Care

Kinship Care

Kinship care refers to the care of children by relatives or, in some jurisdictions, close friends (often referred to as fictive kin). Relatives are the preferred resources for children who must be removed from their parent parents because it maintains the children's connection with their birth families. Kinship care is often considered a type of family preservation service.

Treatment Care

Treatment Foster Care offers specialized supports for children experiencing difficulties with the emotional impact of early deprivation, abuse, or separation and loss. The children were found by the courts to be at imminent risk of harm and placed in the child welfare system.

Respite Care

 Respite is a service that enables the foster parent to take a break from meeting the special needs of the child in care, while also giving the child the benefit of a stimulating change of environment

I Want to Be a Foster Parent