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About two-thirds of the children currently in foster care have at least one sibling who is also in foster care. Sadly, many of these children are separated from their siblings in foster care. The separation typically occurs during the initial placement of children in foster care, but it can also occur as a result of…

Every year, the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services releases a report that outlines the current state of the foster care system in the U.S. The 2016 report was released at the end of last year, and sadly, it reveals that the number of children in foster care…

Don’t Lose Sight of the Goal  When children are placed in foster care, also called foster placement, the goal is to reunification, in most cases. But when case plans aren’t successful, or parents aren’t given the services and support they need, reunification failures can occur. A reunification failure is when reunification isn’t successful, and the…

When Children Can’t Come Home There are many possible causes of prolonged foster placement. Typically, foster placement is short-term, providing a child with a safe home just long enough for his or her parent to make necessary changes. But when a parent struggles to do so, or the social workers on the case fail to…

Foster Parent Rights Foster parents have certain rights with regard to caring for their foster children. Naturally, foster parents are invested in the wellbeing of the children they care for. New Jersey foster parents are not extended the same rights as a child’s birth parents. They do, however, benefit from many essential rights that, ultimately,…

Temporary Foster Placement The process by which a child is placed in a foster setting is determined—initially—by DCPP protocol and the suitable placement options those working on the case can identify. DCPP is New Jersey’s child protective services (CPS) agency. DCPP caseworkers are required first to try to find relatives with whom to place a…

A Difficult Time A parent’s worst nightmare is watching CPS take their child way to live with a foster family. New Jersey’s CPS agency (DCPP) will put children in foster placement if they are at imminent risk of harm in the home. And while foster placement is meant to be short-term, many children can spend…

Facing Adversity A child who is put in foster placement faces the same challenges as his or her peers but often lacks the support needed to overcome them. Not surprisingly, foster children can suffer from emotional, developmental, and cognitive delays. Ultimately, this can prevent them from keeping pace with their peers. Perhaps one of the…

All foster children have special needs. They need support during their transition to help them cope with a new family.

Infants and other young children are more frequently placed in foster care, and, due to their vulnerable state, they often suffer the most trauma.