What is Foster
Care and Adoption?
Foster
Care
Foster
care is 24-hour care provided by licensed
foster parents for children who cannot live
with their parents because they are unsafe,
have special care or treatment needs, or
other circumstances exist that result in
their parents or family are unable to care
for them. County human service agencies
license and oversee these placements.
Generally,
placement in foster care is temporary and
intended to give the child's family time
to make necessary changes so that the child
can live safely in his or her home and community.
Most children in foster care return home
to their families. When children cannot
return home, they find permanence through
placement with relatives, adoption, or other
means.
Tribal
Information
The
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) gives each
tribe discretion regarding when and how
the tribe will be involved in child custody
proceedings and placement of children who
are members of their tribe or who are eligible
for membership in the tribe. Tribes also
have the legal authority to create foster
care licensing rules specific to their tribe.
To learn more about being licensed by one
of the tribes in Wisconsin contact the Indian
Child Welfare Agency for that
specific tribe. The
National Indian Child Welfare Association
also has more information on ICWA.
Treatment
Foster Care
Children are placed in treatment
foster homes for the same reasons they are
placed in foster care overall, however,
treatment foster care is typically for children
who require a higher level of care. Children
placed in treatment foster care tend to
have more complex behavioral and emotional
challenges and/or intensive medical needs.
County human services typically contract
with private agencies to provide this level
of foster care.
In
additional to following the rules of Chapter
HFS 56 that govern foster homes
in Wisconsin, treatment foster homes also
follow the rules in Chapter
HFS 38, which says in part:
A
person or persons licensed to operate a
treatment foster
home shall possess at least 2 of the following:
(a) A minimum of one year of experience
as a licensed foster parent, understood as having been a licensed
foster parent who had a child placed in his or her home
for at least one year.
(b)
A minimum of 5 years of experience working
with or parenting children.
(c)
A minimum of 500 hours of experience as
a respite care provider for children under the supervision
of a human services agency.
(d)
A high school diploma or the equivalent.
(e)
A substantial relationship with the child
to be placed
through previous experience as a staff
person or volunteer involved in the child’s case or
as a family member or friend of the family of the treatment foster child.
HSF
38 also goes on to list many specific knowledge
and skills that a treatment foster parent
should have.
Adoption
Adoption
is the legal and emotional acceptance of
a child not born into your family. There
are several different kinds of adoption,
including: domestic, international, special
needs adoption, independent adoption, and
relative adoption.
For
more information about adoption in general,
go to Wisconsin
Adoption Information Center
or download the Special
Needs Adoption Directory for
specific information about adopting from
the foster care system.
