A Family For Every Child would like to thank you for believing that every child deserves a family. Your support has enabled A Family For Every Child to make a difference in the lives of our children in foster care. Because of your support, all of our programs have been busy serving children in foster care and families going through the adoption process. We hope you will find the following information helpful in understanding why we all need to work together. How the Child Welfare System Works The child welfare system is a group of services designed to promote the well-being of children by ensuring safety, achieving permanency, and strengthening families to care for their children successfully. While the primary responsibility for child welfare services rests with the States, the Federal Government plays a major role in supporting States in the delivery of services What Happens: • When possible abuse or neglect is reported • After a report is “screened in” • In substantiated (founded) cases • To people who abuse or neglect children • To children who enter foster care What Happens When Possible Abuse or Neglect Is Reported Any concerned person can report suspicions of child abuse or neglect. Most reports are made by “mandatory reporters”—people who are required by State law to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect. What Happens After a Report Is “Screened In” CPS caseworkers, often called investigators, respond within a particular time period, which may be anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on the type of maltreatment alleged, the potential severity of the situation, and requirements under State law. They may speak with the parents and other people in contact with the child, such as doctors, teachers, or child care providers. They also may speak with the child, alone or in the presence of caregivers, depending on the child’s age and level of risk. Children who are believed to be in immediate danger may be moved to a shelter, a foster home, or a relative’s home during the investigation and while court proceedings are pending. An investigator’s primary purpose is to determine whether the child is safe, whether abuse or neglect has occurred, and whether there is a risk of it occurring again. What Happens to Children Who Enter Foster Care Most children in foster care are placed with relatives or foster families, but some may be placed in group homes. While a child is in foster care, he or she attends school and should receive medical care and other services as needed. The child’s family also receives services to support their efforts to reduce the risk of future maltreatment and to help them, in most cases, be reunited with their child. Visits between parents and their children and between siblings are encouraged and supported, following a visitation plan. Every child in foster care should have a permanency plan. Families typically participate in developing a permanency plan for the child and a service plan for the family, and these plans guide the agency’s work. Reunification with parents, except in unusual and extreme circumstances, is the permanency plan for most children. In some cases, when prospects for reunification. In FFY 2010, 128,913 children leaving foster care (51 percent) were returned to their parents or primary caregivers. 50% of Them will return to care at least once. The median length of stay in foster care for these children was 33 months. Thousands "Age out" each year, at 18, alone and unprepared for life. From all of us at A Family For Every Child, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It is only through the generosity and support of community members like you that we are able to make a real difference in the lives of our children in foster care. Together we can find a family for every child.