Foster Care / Reintegration Services

Foster care is intended to be a temporary living situation for children who have been abused or neglected and are removed from their homes to assure their safety. Reintegration with their family or extended kin is the permanency of first choice. If reintegration is not possible, adoption or an alternative permanency, provided as quickly as possible, is the goal to ensure a child’s well being.

Reintegration/Foster Care services are provided to children and families when the court has found the child to be in need of care and the parents are not able to meet the safety and care needs of the child.

Most children who require foster care have been abused or neglected and have significant developmental, physical, and emotional needs which require a wide array of service and care options. Placement needs range from placement with an aunt to inpatient psychiatric care. Family foster homes are the most frequently used placement resource, but some children require more structured treatment-oriented settings in group homes and residential centers. On March 1, 1997, private contract agencies assumed responsibility for foster care services including case planning, placement, service delivery, and collaboration with communities to ensure appropriate services are available in close proximity to the child’s home. The SRS social worker is responsible for monitoring service delivery to achieve established outcomes.