Foster Care

Currently there are over 16,000 children in the care of Child Protective Services in the State of Texas and nearly 420,000 children in the United States. CPS is the government agency which investigates allegations of abuse, neglect and abandonment of children, and if necessary, removes children from their homes. These children are placed in temporary care in emergency shelters, group homes, foster homes, and kinship placements. Children may be in care for as little as a week before returning to their parents, or as long as several years in the event that no adoptive family steps forward. The length of stay varies greatly and is dependent on a multitude of factors.

Upon removal, a temporary caseworker is assigned to a child or group of siblings. CPS begins making calls to licensed foster homes, and private Child Placing Agencies (who, in turn, begin to call their foster homes) to find a foster home for the children. In an effort to keep children from spending the night in emergency shelters or CPS offices, sibling groups may be separated, and children may be placed in a foster home several hours from their point of origin. A court hearing is generally held in the first 14 days to create a service plan for the children. This plan may address such details as reunification with parents, placement of siblings in a common foster homes, etc.

Another population of children in need of foster care are international refugees.  If you are not adoption motivated and open to caring for older children, this is another way to care for children in need.  Find out more about international foster care here.

For more information regarding the foster care process, select a link in the left corner of this page, or find an information meeting being hosted by CPS or a private child placing agency in your area.

_{Embrace is not a foster care or adoption agency.  We seek to inform and support families throughout the process even after a child is reunified or an adoption is finalized.}