Not all kids come from a loving home that you know - Some have to be moved to foster homes - Information for kids

If you grow up in a loving home with two parents, or even if your parents are divorced and live in separate homes, but are still getting along, you are very lucky.  

Not all children grow up in loving homes.  Some comes from broken or abusive homes and can be taken from their parents.

                              Lets have a look today at 'Foster parents and foster children'.

Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, or private home of a state-certified caregiver), referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family member approved by the state.

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If you 'foster' something or someone, it means you help them and make sure they will grow and be loved.  This is the role of the 'foster family'.  If a child can not live with his own parents any more, because of a number of reasons like for instance they do not care for the child, or they use drugs or abuse the child, another family will take that child in and look after him/her.

As a child you have the right to be cared for and loved by parents, even if it is not your own parents.  Nobody has the right to treat you badly in anyway and if the state feels that you are not being treated fairly in your house, they will move you to 'foster parents' that will love you and care for you.

Some kids do not stay in the foster home for always, they can be moved around a lot, but some kids are very lucky to stay in one house and at the end the parent will 'adopt' them, which mean they are then like their 'real' parents.

Some kids remain in foster care for a long time, but the goal is to limit the amount of time in a foster family. When possible, the same state agency that runs the foster family program tries to help the family get back together. 

This means that the parents from which the kids were taken can change and become better and that way they can then look after their own children again, so the 'foster parents' were just helping the child until their parents got well again.

If an adult decides they want to become a foster parent, they will have to be 'checked out' first.  You cannot just leave children with anybody.  The state must make sure that the foster parents will look after the kids and keep them safe.  

You must be a very special kind of person, because you must also understand that the child will maybe not always stay with you and if they can go back to their biological parents, you must be able to let them go, even if you love them a lot.

It can be really difficult for a child to move to a foster family.  On the one hand it is better for them because they will have somebody to care for them, but on the other hand it can be scary to be in a new house with new rules and new parents.

These foster kids can feel a lot of things, because they are happy because they have somebody that cares for them, but they also worry about their own parents and they can be scared that their foster parents do not want to look after them any more and then they will have to go to a new house.

If you have a friend who is in the foster system, do not tease them about it. Imagine how you would feel if you suddenly had to live with strangers.  Rather try and support them.  If you see they are feeling down, speak to them and see if you can help them feel better.

If you are ever in a situation where a friend who is in foster care tells you that their foster parents are not treating them well, you need to tell an adult that they can look into it.

The 'social worker or case worker' is the person who will be in charge to see that the child is put in a loving home and she/he will visit the foster home often to see if the child is okay.  It can happen that she has so many kids to follow up on, that she cannot get to everybody and that is why it is important that other people can inform her if the foster parents are not treating the child well.

He/she will then be able to visit and check up on the child and make sure the child is placed in a loving home.

It's very important that the kid has a peaceful place to live and that he or she gets well cared for. If that's not happening with the foster family, the kid needs to tell someone. The caseworker can make changes, if necessary. 

It is always a good thing if a child can go back to his/her real parents, but only if they can look after him.  If not it is better for them to stay in a house where they are taken care of.

Maybe one day when you are grown up you would also like to become a foster parent and help kids in need, but for now you can help your friend by being there for them and making sure they know they can speak to you if they are happy or sad.

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