| The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act (P.L. 92-272) passed by the U.S. Congress in 1980 shifted the focus of the foster care system (FCS) from caring for homeless and neglected children to providing services for families in order to minimize child removal rates. The current focus of the FCS is to prevent removal and to work toward reunification with the biological family or toward a permanent placement through adoption (Courtney, 1994; Lindsey, 1994; Woolf, 1990). Prior research studies on foster care examined system operations and the characteristics of children before, during and after they had entered the FCS (Cooper, Peterson, & Meier, 1987; Fanshel & Maas, 1962; Goerge, Wulczyn, & Fanshel, 1994; Pardeck, 1983b). Limited research has been specifically devoted to foster parents, their competence, and the influences they have on the children in their care (Cautley & Aldridge, 1975; Doelling & Johnson, 1990; Hampson & Tavormina, 1980). With increasing numbers of foster children with severe problems, the demand for appropriate foster care placements has also increased. Skilled, competent, and well-trained foster parents are crucial in providing "temporary" care. In addition the recent passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 Public Law 105-89 (U.S. Gov. Printing Office, 1997) placed the primary focus on the safety of children in the FCS.; The present study conducted a comparison of state laws regarding the licensing of foster parents across the United States. The study explored whether there are national standards for the process and criteria of recruiting, training, and selecting foster parents. Using state laws posted on the Internet as the data source, the study found an overall lack of consensus and much variability in laws that oversee foster parents in the FCS across 50 states. Only 33 states have laws directly governing foster parenting, with the rest delegated to the county or designated agencies. The study compiled a list of the most stringent criteria across all states in hopes to serve as a base for a national standard for foster parenting. |
