Foster Care System
The United States has a system of foster care by which adults care for minor children who are not able to live with their biological parents. In fiscal year 2000, 150,703 foster children were adopted in the United States, many by their foster parents or relatives of their biological parents. The enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 1997 has approximately doubled the number of children adopted from foster care in the United States. If a child in the U.S. governmental foster care system is not adopted or returned to the custody of their birth parents by the age of 18 years old, they are aged out of the system on their 18th birthday.
Read more about this topic: Adoption In The United States
Famous quotes containing the words foster, care and/or system:
“‘Way down upon de Swanee ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere’s where my heart is turning ebber,
Dere’s where de old folks stay.”
—Stephen Collins Foster (1826–1884)
“General McLaidlaw: Lena will never marry. She’s not the marrying sort. I see no reason to worry. There’s enough to care for her for the rest of her life.
Mrs. McLaidlaw: I suppose you’re right, dear. I’m afraid she is rather spinsterish.
General McLaidlaw: What’s wrong with that. The old maid’s a respectable institution. All women are not alike. Lena has intellect and a fine solid character.”
—Samson Raphaelson (1896–1983)
“Fear, coercion, punishment, are the masculine remedies for moral weakness, but statistics show their failure for centuries. Why not change the system and try the education of the moral and intellectual faculties, cheerful surroundings, inspiring influences? Everything in our present system tends to lower the physical vitality, the self-respect, the moral tone, and to harden instead of reforming the criminal.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)