Foster care is full-time substitute care of children outside their own homes by people other than the biological parents.

Children are placed in foster care for a number of reasons. Some are being protected from abuse at home; others have been neglected by their parents, or have parents who are unable to take care of them. A small percentage of children are in foster care because their parents feel unable to control them, and their behavior may have led to delinquency. In all cases, the child's natural parents temporarily give up legal custody of the child. A child may be placed in foster care with the natural parents' consent. In a clear case of abuse or neglect, a court can order a child into foster care without the parents' consent. Foster care does not necessarily mean care by strangers. If a government agency decides a child...