Foster care is a lifeline that saves thousands of abused and neglected children each year.
At the same time, taking children into state custody is an incredibly invasive governmental intrusion into family life. In essence, when it takes custody of a child the government is saying that it can do a better job protecting and caring for this child than the child’s parents can (Bass, et al., 2004).
As a result of this bold assertion, the government bears a special responsibility for children in foster care. Everyone working in the child welfare system carries this burden to some degree. At the very least, every child welfare professional should have a sense of where we are and what’s on the horizon when it comes to foster care.
For this reason, this issue gives you an update on foster care. It compares North Carolina foster care statistics to the nation’s, suggests ways to enhance visits between social workers and children in foster care, and more. We hope you find it helpful.
Contents of this Issue
