Foster Child Definition: Understanding the Impact and Meaning

When I first started volunteering with foster kiddos, I had a lot of questions, especially about the “foster child definition” and how the system worked. Logistical, practical questions about how to foster, for how long, and the differences between kinship care vs. foster care were at the forefront of my mind. If you are new to the fostering world and need some clarity, this is for you! You are likely familiar with all this information if you have been involved in a foster community for some time. However, with big conversations and important life decisions, it can be easy to lose track of the simple truths.

The purpose of this article is solely to educate or remind you of some facts about the foster system and to invite you to what we are doing at Therapeutic Family Life. 

According to FosterVa, “national data from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) shows 407,000 children in foster care in 2020 alone.” I can’t imagine the COVID-19 pandemic did any good for that number. That is nearly half a million children in our country who have been removed from the place they knew as home and are temporarily living with a distant relative or a state-licensed adult. Some children are reunified with their biological parents quicker than others, depending on the completion of a service plan or progress based on their social worker’s discretion.

Some kids bounce between foster homes for days, months, or even years, trying to find a good placement during their time in the system. Other kiddos stay with blood relatives such as an aunt, uncle, grandma, or grandpa, which is known as kinship care. At the same time, other kids get adopted by their foster or kinship family! Every single kid in this system will have a unique experience.

Section 1: Understanding Foster Care

The barebone definition of a foster child is “a minor placed in state custody”. The state in turn finds suitable licensed families who have gone through all the prerequisites to host a child and escorts the child over to the foster family’s home for an unprecedented amount of time. This allows their biological parent(s) to receive the help they need. Reunification is always the goal, but at the end of the day, whatever is best for the child will win. 

A loving, present adult is the most important thing for socioemotional, mental, physical, and spiritual development. Foster care allows kids who are temporarily removed from their biological parents to receive adequate parental care still. Foster care is a saving grace to kids whose parents do not have the ability to love them the best they can for a plethora of reasons. 

Between federal, state, and local agencies, there is a seamless support system that transitions the kiddos from one unit of care to another. Before the child is removed, Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) will attempt various evidence-based strategies in order to keep the child with their parents. When results don’t meet requirements, the child is then removed from their home and brought into the foster care system, awaiting placement. 

Where agencies such as Therapeutic Family Life (TFL), or other local child placement agencies, come in is in the local execution process of training parents, maintaining records, home visits, and placing children etc. One of our highly trained and informative Foster Home Developers will meet you where you are at in this process, lead you through screening and training courses, and conduct your home visit all within a matter of 90 days. What is unique about TFL is that we provide additional structure, support, and supervision on top of meeting the basic requirements and needs. We don’t just place a child to place them but to find the right fit for both parties and support going forward. 

Section 2: Who Are Foster Youth?

Foster kiddos range in age. From birth to 24, there are children and young adults who have been and are a part of this system. Foster children are children between the ages of 0 to 14, whereas foster “youth” would be considered ages 15 to 24. The needs of a 6-year-old will be entirely different than the needs of an 18-year-old. It is essential to be aware of the needs of different ages foster kids – socioemotional, physical, and mental. Whether you are fostering a 2-year-old or a 19-year-old, TFL has resources and trained professionals to give you resources and guidance through different situations. 

Section 3: The Journey of Becoming a Foster Parent

How does one become a foster parent? What does it mean to be a foster parent? Some basic requirements you must meet to become a foster parent are being at least 21 years of age, having no criminal record, financially meeting your own needs, and being in good mental and physical health. Background checks and fingerprinting will be done as well. Once you have been cleared, you will have to complete an extensive application providing details about your lifestyle, preferences, why you want to foster, etc.

Following the application, you will attend training and orientation that will teach you how to prepare your family and home for a foster child, how to care for your child best, and other expectations. Lastly, a home visit will be conducted. Once all prerequisites have been met and you have given the thumbs up, a sweet kiddo can show up at your door any hour of the day with their social worker. 

Odds are, the child who was placed in foster care and who could show up to your door has been through recent and immense trauma. Their life just got temporarily flipped upside down, they do not know where they are, they are scared. To be a foster parent is to be a bayou in the storm they just got out of. It is a safe place, a gift, a haven, that the kid is able to breathe and feel held by. To be a foster parent is to take in each kid fully and to treat them as if they were your own, even if for a couple of weeks. 

While it may be intimidating and stir up some fear, you do not have to enter this process alone. TFL walks with you through the whole process. If you feel something inside of you that is itching to know more or to get involved, our website talks you through every step and offers a phone call to discuss any fear, question, or detail you want to know.

Section 4: The Meaning of Fostering

The word foster means to encourage, to bring up, and to promote the development of something. Every person deserves the right to be brought up well, to be equipped and poured into. It is no child’s fault that they are walking the terrain they are, but there is a responsibility to bring up, to encourage those who can’t themselves. 

From countless success stories from our agency, to agencies across the country and globe, few people come out of this experience not changed from the inside out. The Lord does not leave your willing, sacrificial hands, time, and heart empty through or after this process. To open the door and invite a child and whatever they are carrying into your own home is unbelievably Christ-like, and you will be marked by it. And each and every child will be marked by you. Check out our success stories!

Conclusion

Before a kiddo is “a minor placed in state custody,” they are a fellow human with a name, hair color, and a heartbeat. They have dreams and a favorite food. A kiddo who got dealt an unfair deck of cards in the primary years of their life. A kiddo who deserves to be fought for, and believed in. And that is why Therapeutic Family Life exists. To fight to see, know, and provide for these children and to help parents be the best foster parents they can be. 

All in all, it is important to be educated within all realms of this system if it is something you are stepping into. We would love to talk it all out with you!