What is Foster Care?
Twenty-four-hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the State agency has placement and care responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, family foster homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions, and pre-adoptive homes.

What is the goal of a foster parent?
Taken from a foster parent orientation packet, the goal of a foster parent is "To nurture and supervise a child in your temporary care and to assist the department so that the child will have a permanent home."

What is Foster Adopt?
Foster adopt is when a foster child becomes legally free (parental rights are terminated) and they are in need of a permanent home. They are placed with a family with a plan for permanency.

adoption.com
An informative web site that has articles, adoption professionals, photo listings, community forums, products, etc.

Northwest Adoption Exchange
A wondeful site that lists waiting children in the Pacific Northwest. Families must have a completed ADOPTION homestudy in order to obtain contact information and they only are accepting Adoption homestudies on children in their special recruitment projects. So, it's important that you actually have an adoption home study.

DSHS
This is the official website of the Department of Social and Health Services. DSHS is a family of programs and services helping 1.3 million children and families each year.

DSHS Resource Family Training Institute
Adoption and foster care information for Washington State.

Special Needs Adoptive Parent Services, Inc.
This is an Idaho State Photolisting site. It is an excellent informative site. They feature children through television, newspaper and radio Families are introduced to one child each week who are waiting in foster care for a permanent family.

Special Needs Adoption Coalition
A site with a monthly newsletter that you can download. It has helpful informative articles for people who are foster parents as well as featured children that are waiting to be adopted.