Become a Foster Parent Today

Whether you're ready to welcome a foster child into your home or simply seeking to learn more about fostering and adoption, begin your journey here.

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FosterUSKids is America's sole one-stop resource, offering inspiration and information to help you become a foster or adoptive parent in your state.

About Us: Our Mission for Helping Foster Children in America

At FosterUSKids, we're committed to preparing individuals for the rewarding path of foster parenting. We believe that every dedicated adult can significantly impact a child's life. Understanding the powerful effect of stable, nurturing families, we strive to lessen the critical shortage of foster homes for nearly 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system. By making it easier to access essential foster care resources, we will grow our foster community nationwide, offering support to foster and adoptive parents, and hope to the foster children who need it most. 

Take the Next Step on Your Fostering Journey

  • Learn About Foster Care

    I want to understand what it takes to become a foster parent and whether it's the right path for me. Please tell me more and help me find a local child-placing agency to guide next steps. 

    Learn More

  • Become a Foster Parent

    I am ready to foster or adopt a child into my family. Connect me with an agency partner in my area who will work with me throughout the approval and licensing process. 

    Find Your Agency

  • Up Your Parenting Game

    Whether an aspiring or experienced foster parent, I'm always ready to learn skills and strategies to better support my foster child. I want to browse the topics and tips our community cares about. 

    Get Tips & How-To's

  • Share Your Experience

    I would love to share my fostering journey, insights, and expertise with our foster community, including how FosterUSKids can improve site resources for would-be foster parents and their agency partners.

    Tell Us Your Story

Babies, Children, and Teens Enter the U.S. Foster Care System Every Day

Children of all ages find themselves in foster care, whether for weeks, months, or even years, as their birth parents or primary caregivers strive to overcome challenges. If reuniting with their families isn't possible, these children may become eligible for adoption into a permanent, loving family. The latest AFCARS report reflects this wide age range among our nation's nearly 400,000 foster kids.

Ages of Children in Foster Care
Year Progress
< 1
1-3
4-6
7-9
10-12
13-15
16-17

U.S. Foster Care Facts - The Latest AFCARS Report

Foster or Adopt a Child Near You

FosterUSKids has compiled a list of each state's public and private foster care and adoption resources and child-placing agencies.

Click on your state to learn:

  • Eligibility requirements and how to become a foster parent
  • Foster facts and FAQs
  • Foster parent support resources and child-placing agencies


Foster Care Options to Fit Your Lifestyle

Traditional | Treatment/Therapeutic | Foster-to-Adopt | Direct Adoption | Respite

Caring for children in the foster care system can take many forms. While your heart is in it, your available time and flexibility might lead to a fostering path different from what you initially imagined. Remember, every kind of foster parent can significantly impact a child's life, creating positive outcomes and forging a hopeful future.

Whether it's short-term respite care or a long-term foster or adoptive commitment, you have many options. Let's explore the five primary types of foster care:

  • What Is Foster Care?

    Traditional foster care is a temporary arrangement for children who cannot live with their birth parents or guardians for various reasons, such as the loss of a parent, neglect, abuse, or other family issues. Foster care may be with a relative or close family friend (known as kinship care), or with a licensed foster care provider. Both provide children with a stable, nurturing family environment until they can safely return to their birth family or find a permanent home through adoption. Foster parents are trained to provide loving support for children, and they work with social workers and other professionals to support each child's individual needs.

  • What Is Treatment Foster Care (TFC)?

    TFC is a specialized form of foster care that provides treatment and support to children with emotional, behavioral, or medical needs. TFC, also known as Therapeutic Foster Care, provides a therapeutic environment for children who require more than traditional foster or kinship care placement. Most programs offer specialized training and intensive support for foster parents to help them address the unique needs of these children. TFC aims to help children return home and achieve stability, permanency, and positive life outcomes.

  • What Is Foster-To-Adopt?

    Foster-to-adopt is an option for people interested in becoming foster parents and eventually adopting a child in their care. Foster parents provide care and advocate for foster children while the courts work to reunify them with their birth families. In cases where rejoining the family is not possible, the courts may "Terminate Parental Rights" (TPR), and make the children eligible for adoption. Foster parents are often approached first about adopting their foster children. Foster-to-adopt provides continuity for children in a loving and stable home while in the foster care system, and provides a path to adoption if they cannot return to their birth family.

  • What Is Direct Adoption?

    Adoption is the legal process in which children not raised by their birth parents become permanent members of another family. There are two paths to adoption, including foster-to-adopt and direct adoption. Foster care is a no-cost option for parents interested in adopting a child after providing temporary care. In America, there are over 100,000 children ready to be adopted from foster care. Direct adoption options include domestic or international adoptions through public, private, or independent agencies. Direct adoptions include agency and legal fees for the adoptive family and do not follow a period of time in foster care.

  • What Is Respite Care?

    Respite care is a temporary form of foster parenting, where licensed foster parents provide short-term care for another parent's foster children. Respite care provides relief to parents and trained care to their foster children. It gives adults a short-term break from the daily responsibilities of caring for foster children. Respite care may come into play for foster parents who need to cross state lines or take care of personal priorities, and may also serve simply as parental time off to recharge. This opportunity for self-care ensures that primary foster caregivers can prioritize their own well-being while supporting foster children in a stable and loving family environment. A child entering foster care may also be placed in respite care while their long-term plan is implemented.

  • Start Your Journey as a Foster Parent today...

    Every kind of foster care opens a home to a foster child and ensures they do not end up in the institutional setting of a group home. Foster children desperately need a soft place to land in a safe, nurturing family space. Start by having a conversation to learn more. You can talk to a child-placing agency and attend a free information meeting without any pressure to commit. Look for a responsive agency partner that understands and supports your needs. A foster care advocate in your state will help you get foster parent approval and match you with a child most likely to thrive in your care.