Why are children placed in foster care?
Children usually enter the foster care care system with a CHIPS or JIPS petition or a delinquency petition. CHIPS (or JIPS ) petition stands for a Child (or Juvenile) In Need of Protection or Services. Some examples of CHIPS cases include: children being neglected or abandoned, parents being unavailable due to being hospitalized or incarcerated, children being physically or sexually abused, children who have significant special needs (behavioral, emotional, physical) and who have parents who are unable to care for the child without help from the system. A delinquency petition happens when a child has broken the law. Examples of delinquencies include: stealing, physically or sexually assaulting someone, fire setting, disorderly conduct, etc. Social workers first try to find appropriate family members who might be able to care for a child before they look to place the child in a foster home.
