Alternatives to Foster Care

Abstract

It is unequivocally clear that separating children from parents through foster care is harmful. We offer several safe alternatives to foster care, including new assessment tools focusing on family strengths and parents’ readiness to learn and six interventions tailored to local needs. These alternatives keep children with their parents while under child protection supervision. All cost substantially less than foster care. The alternatives had several characteristics in common. Child needs, especially safety, were met. Parents worked with professionals in structuring new services, resulting in co-created bespoke services with a wide buy-in in each community. Using the new tools, the alternatives were assessed for strengths and parental readiness before intervening so that success was promoted. The best services combined individual learning and group activities, especially activities that involved exercise, outdoor green-time, and social engagement. They also offered 24/7 availability and affiliated with a university to provide better program design and evidence of outcomes. We discuss the impediments to accepting alternatives to foster care, and call for policy makers, judges, supervisors, and managers, as well as case workers, to reduce the use of foster care by using safe alternatives that strengthen families.