By Ashley Argese, Assistant Vice President of Communications at Cayuga Centers
Change happens fast in the child welfare system – and having enough foster homes available for young people is essential to making these transitions easier. Sometimes a child walks through the door for a night. Sometimes they walk in and stay for years. No matter how long they stay at one particular home, every door a foster family opens is valuable.
Types of foster care stays
Opportunities for licensed foster parents range from short to long-term stays. Children in the foster care system face many situations that require both. A young person may begin in a short-term placement and then end up in a long-term placement. Let’s take a look at the different placements available to foster parents.
Emergency Placements and Respite Placements
Both emergency foster care placements and respite placements often last a short amount of time, ranging from a single night to several weeks.
A child may need an emergency placement for many reasons.
According to Foster US Kids, emergency placements happen due to dangerous environments, home violence, accidents, disasters, or the illness or death of a caregiver. They may also need an emergency foster home if their current placement falls through.
Respite foster care placements can also be considered emergency placements. However, respite placements are unique in that they can be planned in advance to give long-term foster parents a break. For example, if a long-term foster parent has an emergency or needs to leave town, they may request a respite placement. Sometimes, agencies can also provide an out-of-home respite stay for youth in a facility.
At Cayuga Centers, our Youth and Family Resource Center allows for both emergency and planned respite stays until a therapeutic foster home is available. This temporary home offers a short stay, typically between 1-2 days but up to 21 days.
The Youth and Family Resource Center also provides therapy services, the development of safety plans, skills training, and other services and support as needed. A short-term placement like this also allows for siblings in foster care to stay together until a more permanent home can be found.
Long-term foster care stays
The length of long-term or traditional foster care placements can vary from a few months to several years. These placements typically provide more stability to the child in care. In a long-term placement, a young person avoids jumping from home to home — lessening school disruptions and helping them build a bond with their foster family until reunification can be explored.
At Cayuga Centers, youth are matched with foster parents in their community. Both the foster parent and young person are provided wrap-around services to make the adjustment as easy as possible.
Our treatment foster care team provides individual and family therapy services, transportation, case planning, and skills training. These enhanced services focus on stability, working toward reunification, and building skills and relationships to set them up for future success.
Treatment foster parents are supported through 24/7 on-call support, respite for foster families, and foster parent support groups.
Kinship foster care
Kinship foster care stays can be both long-term and short-term. Kinship fostering refers to when a child is fostered by a family member or close friend. The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), a federal law signed in 2017, prioritizes these placements due to evidence of better outcomes – children have familiarity with the caregiver, and there is increased stability.
Navigating kinship care can have its strengths and challenges, but it can be a great option to keep families together.
Why every type of foster home matters
Both respite and long-term homes are important in meeting the various needs of youth in the child welfare system. Typically, if you get certified as a traditional or therapeutic foster parent, you can provide both short-term and long-term care. Some new foster parents even choose to start out with respite placements before jumping into long-term placements.
So, how many kids are in the foster care system, and how do they get there? According to the AFCARS Report, 343,077 children were in foster care in 2024. This includes 175,282 new entries into the system.
Children end up in foster care at all ages and for many reasons, often at no fault of their own. Some reasons include:
- Abuse
- Neglect
- The death of a family member
- Abandonment
- Parental addiction or jail time
According to The Imprint’s Foster Care Capacity study, in 2023, there were 342,981 youth in care, but only roughly 198,304 licensed foster homes in the United States. This data reveals that there are roughly 42% more youth in care than licensed foster homes in the U.S.—highlighting just how essential every type of foster home is in meeting this need.
Whether a child returns to their biological family or finds a long-term foster home until they age out of care, having a variety of foster care opportunities available helps them reach permanency sooner.
The power of opening your door
Opening your door to foster youth is one of the best ways you can help your community. Foster care programs are always looking for safe and loving homes.
Fostering means being an advocate for children who need support. To learn how to become a foster parent, look to see if you meet the requirements for your state. To begin obtaining your foster care license, explore foster care agencies in your area and start a conversation.
If you are interested in becoming a therapeutic foster home with Cayuga Centers, visit cayugacenters.org/foster-care.
