A
compassionate foster care system will have the same goal as a good adoption
agency, which is to find a permanent loving home for a child. A foster child may have special needs due to abuse, neglect
or whatever issue led to him being removed from the biological parents' home.
“My adoption was
treated as a celebration.” (Michael Reagan)
The rewards
of parenthood (whether biological, adoptive, or foster) are apparent in every child
rearing triumph, every smile or laugh. It’s important to know how these two
processes are similar and different because a child’s future could depend on
it.
“More broadly, we are going to have to examine the safety net
programs to make sure they are poised to catch the families before they fall
even more, especially in the areas of unemployment benefits, child care
assistance, and foster care.” (Richard Neal)
1. Adoption is forever while foster care is temporary: Foster care placements are
usually mediated by the court system (or a social services agency), certified
by the state in which they live.
Foster
care is almost always assumed to be temporary. The goal is to reunite a child
with their biological parents. This is after it’s been determined that the
minor (in question) can be properly provided for financially, emotionally, and
socially.
For
adoption, the birth parents voluntarily
relinquish their parental rights. They have decided it’s in the best interest
of the minor (in question). Adoption also offers legal security to
adoptive parents and children in a way that foster care doesn’t. Children who
remain in foster care there until the age of eighteen.
“I found real fulfillment through my children and
through adopting special needs” kids. (Mia Farrow)
2. Both processes seek to create permanent loving families: It’s just not always possible for
a foster child to be reunited with their birth parents. Adoption can be in the
child’s best interests if it’s handled in one of two ways:
Fost-adopt is a process when a
child is placed in a foster home with the expectation that biological parental
rights will be terminated, and they’ll be legally adopted by their foster
parents.
“One thing that all of my
children, biological and foster children, have taught me is the unbelievable
diversity of talent and giftedness that all people have.” (Michele Bachmann)
Legally free for adoption is a process where foster
parents can become legal parents of a child, but they’re not presumed to be that
at the time of placement. Various organizations can help children like this to
be connected with adoption agencies that can get them placed with permanent
families.
“If you can help a child, you don't have to spend years
repairing an adult.”
(Joyce Meyer)
3.
The levels of contact are different: The foster care system actively encourages
biological parents to remain in contact with their children with the use of court-ordered
visitations. Some adoptions are
open and
birth parents can exchange emails or even have face-to-face meetings with their
children.
Other
adoptions are closed, and there’s no contact after a child’s placement with their
adoptive parents. It’s a matter of what everyone is comfortable with, and what
is in the best interest of the child.
“Time and experience have taught me a priceless lesson:
Any child you take for your own becomes your own if you give of yourself to
that child. I have born two children and had seven others by adoption, and they
are all my children, equally beloved and precious.” (Dale Evans) [i]
4. Everyone Should Be Supported: Children, biological parents, and adoptive parents
receive counseling before and after the adoption. Foster families receive a
weekly child care stipend, and are also paired with social workers who can assist
them in working through all the challenges.
“Raising kids is part joy and part guerrilla warfare.” (Ed Asner)
“When we adopt (and when we encourage a culture of adoption in our
churches and communities) we’re picturing something that’s true about our God.
We (like Jesus) see what our Father is doing and do likewise (John 5:19).[ii] And what our Father is doing ( it turns out) is fighting for
orphans, making them sons and daughters.” (Russell D. Moore) [iii]
[i] This post does not encompass international adopting
or foster care.
[ii]Jesus
said to them, `l tell you the truth. The Son cannot do anything alone. He sees
what his Father is doing and he does the same. John 5:19 (New Testament)
(WE)
[iii] Sources used:
·
“Foster Care vs Adopting” (adoptionnetwork.com)
· “What Are the
Differences between Foster Care and Adoption?” by
Carrie Craft
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