Foster Care or Adoption?

Whether you are a foster parent or an adoptive parent, opening your heart and home to a child is a wonderful and life-changing experience for parent and child alike.

In 2007-2008, there were 2,797 children in foster care every month, on average, in Orange County. Most foster children need temporary foster homes until they are eventually able to return to their birth families; others, however, need permanent homes through adoption.

Foster parents provide on-going care and nurturing for children that have been removed from their families because of abuse or neglect. Foster parents also work with the children’s birth parents and/or relatives to help families reunify.

Foster parents become active members of teams dedicated to obtaining the best possible outcome for each child. Foster parents might also assist the team in developing permanent plans for children in situations where safe reunification is not possible.

Adoptive parents provide new families for children who cannot be safely returned to their birth families. An adoptive parent makes a lifetime commitment to a child.

To learn more, please call the Foster & Adoption Parent Information Line, (888) 871-KIDS (1-877-871-5437) and register to attend an orientation session.

Remember, it is not necessary to make a decision about what is right for you before starting the process.