Foster Care: How We Can, and Should, Do More for Maltreated Children

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Foster care delivers round-the-clock substitute care for nearly 700,000 U.S. children separated from their families each year. States operate foster care under federal regulations, yet reform efforts over decades have left substantial concerns. This report reviews how policy has influenced children’s experiences and outcomes, highlighting where reforms succeeded and where they fall short. It also identifies opportunities for federal and state policy to improve safety, health, and well-being.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Foster Care Overview

Major Forms of Foster Care

Addressing Misconceptions and Evidence

Policy Recommendations and Opportunities

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| | Volume 33, Number 3 | 2020
Social Policy Report | | --- | --- | --- | Foster Care: How We Can, and Should, Do More for Maltreated Children SarahA. Font, Pennsylvania State University Elizabeth T. Gershoff, University ofTexas at Austin ABSTRACT Foster care provides round-the-clock substitute care for nearly 700,000 U. S. children who are temporarily or permanently separated from their family of origin each year. Each state manages its own foster care system according to federal regulations. Despite numerous large-scale federal policy reforms over the past several decades, substantial concerns remain about the experiences and outcomes of children in the foster care system. The most recent effort to reform foster care, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018, attempts to both reduce the use of foster care and increase the quality of care. In this report, we review how policy has shaped the experiences and outcomes of children in foster care, where policy has succeeded, and where it falls short of achieving its goals. We then identify opportunities for federal and state policy to better support the safety, health, and well-being of children in foster care. Correspondence Sarah A. Font ([saf252@psu.edu](saf252@psu.edu) ) Social Policy Report | 1 Social Policy Report Volume 33, Number 3 | 2020 ISSN 1075-7031 Social Policy Report is published three times a year by the Society for Research in Child Development. EDITORIAL TEAM Lead Editor Ellen Wartella, PhD [ellen-wartella@northwestern.edu](ellen-wartella@northwestern.edu) Associate Editor Fashina Aladé, PhD [alade@u.northwestern.edu](alade@u.northwestern.edu) Editorial Board P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD Sandra Waxman, PhD David Figlio, PhD Craig Garfield, MD Neil Jordan, PhD Terri Sabol, PhD David Uttal, PhD Diane Schanzenbach, PhD Dedre Gentner, PhD Matthew M. Davis, MD Amelie Petitclerc, PhD Rachel Flynn, PhDOnnie Rogers, PhD SRCD Policy Staff Kelly R. Fisher, PhD Nighisti Dawit, M. Sc. Anna Kimura Manager of Publications Rachel Walther FROM THE EDITOR As this Social Policy Report makes quite clear, there are a number of widely-held false beliefs about the American foster care system, and although the 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act provided the largest “overhaul of the child welfare system in 40 years,” the authors—Sarah Font, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology and member of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network at Penn State University, and Elizabeth Gershoff, Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences and Associate Director of the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin—make a compelling case that there are still substantial policy changes needed to ensure the healthy development of the nearly 700,000 children in the U. S. who need alternative caregiving to protect them from harm each year. The authors first provide an overview of foster care in the U. S. , which is defined as “24-hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the State agency has placement and care responsibility.” Enacted at the state level with some federal oversight, the two most predominant forms of foster care are kinship care, where children are placed in relatives’ homes, and family foster care, where children are placed in non-relatives’ homes. Congregate care placements such as institutionalized group homes and residential facilities are reserved for children needing “intensive levels of care or supervision,” such as those with mental health issues or severe behavioral problems. Strong preference is towards placing children in kinship or family-based care over congregate facilities. This SPR provides a useful framework for addressing some of the popular misunderstandings and assumptions about foster care. Most people, practitioners and the public alike, assume that foster care is inhere

FAQs

What does the report say foster care provides for children?

Foster care provides 24-hour substitute care for children temporarily or permanently separated from their parents or guardians, with state agencies responsible for placement and care.

Why does the report discuss federal policy reforms like the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018?

Because despite large-scale federal reforms, substantial concerns persist. The Act aims to reduce use of foster care while improving the quality of care.

What kinds of outcomes does the report review regarding children in foster care?

It reviews how policy shaped experiences and outcomes, including findings that studies showed no differences in outcomes compared with peers left with their families of origin.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel