When children cannot live safely at home, and an appropriate non-custodial parent, relative or close family friend is currently unable or unwilling to care for them, the court can give temporary legal possession to Child Protective Services, and that agency temporarily places these children in foster care.
Foster care is meant to be temporary until a permanent living arrangement is found and CPS no longer has legal custody of the child. However, for some children, it can become permanent. CPS strives to ensure quality services for children in foster care. However, children in foster care may have to change placements several times while in foster care due to a variety of factors, such as licensing standards violations, court rulings or changes in the foster home or facility.
CPS consistently works toward increasing placement options to better match the needs of each individual child.
State law requires each school district and open enrollment charter school to appoint at least one employee to act as liaison to facilitate the enrollment in or transfer to a public school of a child in the district who is in the conservatorship of the state.