How does a child enter foster care?
When reasonable efforts to keep a child in his/her own home are unsuccessful, the juvenile court may award custody of the child to a local department of social services. In cases where an emergency arises when the court is not in session a child protective services social worker may assume custody of a child and place him/her in a foster home. Either way, the social worker must prove to the juvenile court that “no less drastic alternative than removal of the child from his or her home exists” to protect the child. It is therefore typically in the most serious cases of abuse or neglect that a child is placed in foster care.
