Foster care system: Occupational therapy intervention from a public health perspective

Parekh, P. (2022). Foster care system: Occupational therapy intervention from a public health perspective. SIS Quarterly Practice Connections, 7(1), 2–4.

According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, an estimated 423,997 children were in foster care in 2019 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020). Of these, 57% of children stayed in foster care for more than a year from their entry point. Foster care is a temporary service provided by the state for children who cannot live with their families, as their living environment was deemed unsafe for their well-being by the child welfare agency. Abuse (physical, mental, or sexual), neglect, illicit substance use by parents, or abandonment makes these living environments unsafe/toxic (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2021). Foster care can refer to placement settings like relative foster homes, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, and pre-adoptive homes. On average, a child changes foster homes three to four times during a year because of the foster parents’ unpreparedness (Crabill & Hanson, 2018).