How do foster youths live?

Question

Do they live in a sort of orphanage?

Answer 1

Foster care is not an orphanage at all.  Foster homes are actual homes that take in children on a temporary basis.  The homes are licensed through the state and the foster parents go through all kinds of training prior to becoming licensed depending on the age of the children.  Their are numerous laws and regulations the homes and the parents have to pass and abide by in order to have their license and they have to get it renewed every 1-2 years.  They can either be licensed directly by the state or by private agencies.  The private agencies are also governed by the stated and have contracts with the state.  In both cases the foster parents get paid a per diem rate to care for the children.  Sometimes the private agencies will specialize in children with special needs or who have developmental disabilities and offer more support to the foster parents than just the state license.

The children live with the families in a natural home setting.  The homes are required to have a minimum amount of square footage that belongs to each foster parent.  The homes have to pass an inspection prior to being licensed and they have periodic drop in inspections once they are licensed and children are placed in the homes to ensure the children are being taken care of properly.  Some  homes will take all ages others only take babies, school age, babies-school age, or just teens.  It depends on what the foster parents are comfortable with.  Foster parents can be single or married, g*y or straight, and have biological or adopted children of their own.  The foster children are their responsibility once they are placed in the home.  The foster parents buys their clothing (initially they are given about $300 to do so but after that it is up to them), pays for babysitting or preschool if they work, feeds them, enrolls them in school, takes them to the MD, Dentist, counseling appts, and visits with their biological parents, etc.  They go to church attend family events, have birthday parties, and all that until the kids are ready to be reunited with their real parents.  They also keep track of their emotional/mental well being and report on this to the judge in court.  Sometimes this doesn't happen and then the kids can be adopted.  Generally if at all possible they try and place brothers and sisters together in the same home.  If this isn't possible they are placed in homes as close together as possible.

As for the homes/houses themselves often the foster parents try to give the children room of their own or have the girls share a room with their daughter and the boys share with their son.  The homes vary greatly and I have seen some that are 2 bedrooms and some that are 7.  You never know who will sign up!  Some foster parents have been middle age couples, some older divorced moms, some single dads, some young couples.  Once again you never know who will sign on.  Some try it and decide it isn't for them other have been doing it for 20+ years.

Sadly, sometimes foster homes are only in it for the money (which isn't really all that much) and the kids are neglected or abused.  To combat this unannounced drop in visits occur and the social workers will often meet with the foster kids one on one to talk to them and make sure things are going OK.  They will also take the kids who are too small to talk or who may have communication problems in for routine check ups with a MD to make sure no abuse is happening.  They also talk to daycare providers and teachers.  If any indication of neglect or abuse is uncovered the kids are taken out of the home and the license is revoked, usually criminal charges are brought against the foster parent(s) as well.  

Luckily this doesn't happen very often at all and most foster parents do it because they love children and want to help them.  However when it does happen it is usually in the news a lot so we hear about the bad ones more than the good ones.

Hope this answered your questions!