Why do children get fostered?

There are thousands of children in the UK's foster care system at any given moment. While some kids stay in foster care for just a few days, others do so for many. The most frequent causes for kids to enter the foster care system are examined here. Check the UK Fostering page to learn about fostering meaning or how to become a foster carer.

Children may be taken from their homes and placed in foster care for various reasons. The court or social services agents appointed to each family must consider a variety of considerations in each case because all situations are unique. Decisions are taken based on what is best for the relevant child or children. One or more of the following are some of the most frequent causes for a child to enter the foster care system:

Abandonment: Children may also be placed in foster care due to parental abandonment, which happens when parents leave their kids unattended at home for an extended period or drop them off at school or with a babysitter.

Death: There have been instances where children have had to enter foster care after the loss of a parent because a suitable family member was unavailable, despite the fact that family members typically step forward to care for a kid after their parent's death.

Incarceration: When no family or friends are available to look after the child while a parent is incarcerated in prison or jail, the youngster may be placed into foster care.

Juvenile offences: A kid labelled a juvenile offender by the legal system may be placed in foster care, especially if the family setting is thought to contribute to a pattern of persistent criminal behaviour. This is particularly likely if the parents cannot control the child's conduct effectively.

Medical neglect: Sometimes, it might be dangerous for a child's health for a birth parent to decide against getting medical help for the youngster. These situations might qualify as medical neglect and justify placing a kid and become a foster carer . These regulations may be waived for parents who have religious objections to receiving specific medical care.

Neglect: Lack of meeting a child's basic requirements, such as those for food, a clean living space, or emotional well-being, is considered neglect. Although it is challenging to demonstrate, emotional abuse frequently contributes to physical and sexual abuse.

Physical abuse: Numerous physical harms can be categorised as physical abuse. Often, bruises or other apparent indicators of harm to a kid lead to the discovery and documentation of child abuse. Before a child is taken away, numerous efforts are typically made to assist a family in learning alternate forms of punishment. The definition of physical abuse in each state or nation and the criteria for whether to take a child from their family are decided locally. Restricting or locking a child in a locked room is also an example of physical abuse.

Runaways: Some kids engage in risky runaway behaviour, which parents find challenging. Running away could also be a reaction to dangerous conditions in the house. Children may be placed in foster care under the following circumstances.

Sexual abuse: Numerous things can be considered sexual abuse. Viewing pornographic material or engaging in sexual activities on one end of the continuum and fondling, penetration, or other sexual acts on the other are common ways that sexual abuse is conceptualised.

Truancy: Another reason to remove a child from their home is truancy, unjustified absence from school. Parents are in charge of ensuring that their kids go to school regularly. Additionally, some kids routinely skip or refuse to go to school.

Voluntary placement: Rarely, generally, due to a parent's or child's mental health problems or physical ailments, some parents have asked to have their kids placed in foster care.