What is an Emergency Placement?

What is an emergency or a planned placements in Foster care

Imagine that a child is at risk of immediate harm. Your first reaction would be to take them out of that situation and prevent them from danger. Unfortunately, these situations happen every day.

Child welfare services identify children who are in a dangerous environment and moves them to an emergency care location. This happens for many reasons. We'll cover some of them as we go over the different types of emergency placement for children in foster care programs.

You can support children and families in the foster care system. Learn how you can help foster kids stay free of child abuse and neglect. If you're a prospective foster parent, you can help youth in foster care find safe, loving homes. Foster parents provide nurturing homes to foster children until they can safely return home to their birth parents.

The Different Types of Emergency Placement

One type of emergency placement in foster care applies to kids who are living in dangerous environments. In these cases, children and youth are exposed to people or situations that may harm them. However, there are also other instances when social services need to find quick placement.

Understanding the different scenarios can help you prepare yourself better for fostering a child.

Violence

About one in four children experiences neglect or child abuse.

If a child lives in an environment where violence is an issue, their safety is at risk. Children's safety is at risk if they are exposed to domestic violence or gang activity in their homes.

Examples of violence also include:

  • Maltreatment (violent punishment)
  • Bullying
  • Sexual violence
  • Youth violence
  • Psychological or emotional violence

Those who experience violence in childhood can suffer many health problems, as well. Exposure can result in impaired brain development and damage to the nervous, circulatory, and endocrine systems. Mental health can also be at risk. Foster children are significantly more likely than most to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Accidents and Disasters

A home accident may cause the necessity of emergency child placement, such as a parent's hospitalization. Other accidents and disasters may include fire or flooding that destroys a family home.

When kids move to out-of-home care, relatives are often the first individuals contacted. That's because keeping a child with their family is typically the primary goal. Kinship foster care refers to childcare provided by a relative or close family friend.

In cases where there is no family member to care for a child, state social workers may place them with a licensed foster family.

Illness or Death of the Parent

If a child's biological parent becomes too sick to provide full-time care for them, they may end up in foster care. Children also enter the foster care system if they suffer the loss of a parent or primary caregiver.

If you're interested in becoming a foster parent, you should know about the different types of foster care. Six types of foster care and adoption exist.

Traditional foster care is a temporary situation that can fall into the long-term or short-term category. While this is what most people think of when they hear the term, there are also the following types:

As you can see, emergency placements are one of the many types of services that foster parents can offer. These are the adults who are prepared to take kids at a moment's notice.

They know that the children placed with them rarely stay long. Placements may be a short as just one day.

The Child Can't Stay With Their Foster Family

At times, foster families have emergencies and foster children cannot remain in their foster homes. This situation calls for emergency foster placement.

Placements do sometimes break down for various reasons. For instance, a foster parent may lose their job and need to move for employment. Perhaps there is a death in the family, or a foster parent needs to provide care for an ailing family member.

Respite foster care can help in some of these cases, but it's temporary. So, if a foster parent has to leave for an extended time or they won't return, the foster child will need a new placement.

The cases we listed above are usually emergencies and can happen when least expected.

Children Remanded by the Court

According to the 1976 Bail Act, juvenile defendants will be granted bail in most situations. Exceptions include if they re-offend, intimidate witnesses, fail to surrender to custody, or might be in danger.

In those situations, the 1969 Children and Young Persons Act allows the court to remand a juvenile defendant to a local authority's care. Usually, this results in the youth living in a residential institution that provides appropriate resources.

Emergency care settings include group homes and foster families.

What do Emergency Foster Families Need to Know?

There are many ways to help foster kids. You can volunteer, donate, or become a foster family. Emergency foster parents also provide a great service. Those who choose this path generally have the flexibility and drive to help children in the most urgent need.

Before you choose to provide emergency foster care, prepare yourself for what to expect.

Your child-placing agency can contact you at any time. Emergencies happen without planning at all hours of the day and night. You must be ready to answer your phone, no matter the hour.

As you might expect, this means having a flexible schedule. Not every workplace will be as understanding as you might hope. Good candidates are stay-at-home parents, empty nesters, or those who work from home.

When a child enters emergency care, there is often no time to gather information other than their age and gender. That means emergency foster parents must keep an open mind and stay flexible with child placement preferences.

You'll need personal space ready in advance for the child or children. It helps to have a spare bedroom and on-hand supplies for various ages. Appropriate stock items may include formula, diapers, clothing, and food. A supply of emergency items will save you a trip to the store and ensure you're available to help when needed.

Many emergency foster parents also recommend convertible furniture, like a crib that can convert to a toddler bed.

Emergency placements occur if a child comes into care less than 72 hours and needs a placement right away. This may occur in the middle of the night or the next day. 

A number of situations call for emergency foster care. Examples include:

  • Allegations of abuse or neglect
  • Unsafe conditions for youth
  • Drug abuse within the family

You Can Help Today

Now you know more about the different types of emergency placement and common situations that arise. You can provide life-changing support for children in immediate danger.

Few more important or rewarding journeys exist than helping a child in their toughest time.

If you think you might be a good candidate to provide emergency foster care placement, take the next step today. Contact a local child-placing agency to learn more. A representative can answer your questions and help you learn more about the foster care process.