Foster care refers to the system of federal, state, and local laws and practices pursuant to which children are removed from their home due to allegations of abuse or neglect and placed under the jurisdiction of both a child welfare agency and a juvenile court. The overriding objective of the U.S. child welfare system is to protect children who are not safe in their own homes. Although foster care was intended to be an interim solution until children could return to their birth families or find adoptive homes, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that almost half of foster children spend at least 2 years in the child welfare system and nearly 20' wait 5 or more years for a safe, permanent ...