by Colby Brister

There is a child out there who is waiting for a kind soul to give him or her a chance to have a better life or to offer refuge for the healing of emotional pain and a broken character. That is what adoption and foster care is all about - giving a young innocent person the chance to be part of a conventional society where he or she can become a respectable citizen. You can make that difference for the child if you have the heart, the compassion, the discipline, flexibility, and an adequate financial means to sustain for the future of the child.

What is the difference between adoption and fostering? Adoption involves a legal process in transferring your parental rights to the child on a permanent basis while fostering is temporary in nature and the goal is to return the children to their respective families where they are expected to have a lasting emotional bond that strengthens their sense of acceptance. However, most of the children who are adopted were foster children themselves who no longer are able to return to their birth families. A law in the U.S. was legislated to fast track the availability for adoption of children who languished in foster homes without a chance of getting back to their biological parents or families. This allowed more children to have a greater chance of improving their lives and preparing them physically, mentally and emotionally to survive in a sometimes cruel society.

Children recommended for foster care do not necessarily become candidates for adoption because the main objective is to reunite them with their biological parents or birth families as soon as the conditions for a normal family life are established. Fostering is only a temporary responsibility where you fill in the gap of nurturing the child while in a state of separation from birth families. Financial assistance in caring for the child is provided by the government social service agency responsible in your area. Monitoring the welfare of the child is a triangular set up where you, as the foster parent, the biological family and the social service through a social worker are involved.

Children who are victims of parental abuse and or neglect are placed under foster care either voluntarily by the parents or legal guardian or as determined by the court. These children can be infants, older children and teenagers up to 18 years of age. A great number of them may have been traumatized due to physical, verbal and sexual abuse while others suffer malnutrition and chronic health problems as a result of utter neglect because the parents may be drug addicts, alcoholics or are mentally challenged.

Foster children who do not get reunited with their biological parents may stay under permanent foster care until they are 18 years of age while others get adopted. There are laws like in the U.S. where a child can only remain under foster care for a limited time only after which they become available for adoption. The main objective is to provide a more permanent family setting for the child at the soonest time possible for their utmost welfare.

Adoption and foster care is a reality in our society particularly in highly urbanized areas where the environment is so fast paced and competition is fierce that parents and individuals alike tend to neglect nurturing the fundamentals of a healthy family relationship. The growing number of divorced parents has also contributed in challenging the ideals of a basic institution which is the family. However, these are inevitable changes that our society has to recognize, and for as long as there are individuals like you who will take on the responsibility of ensuring that children without parents and families have the opportunity to taste and enjoy that sense of belonging, then you will have made a difference.

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Colby Brister is a writer for My Baby Bedding Shop and is the loving parent of two. His children are all grown up now but he loves writing about children and giving tips on certain scenarios that parents are faced.