Abstract
This paper examines the current state of foster care placement of children in the United States. It identifies an ambivalence about the service system on the part of policymakers, advocates, and those involved in service programs. It is a system that has benefited from major federal legislation but continues to show serious problems related to the exacerbation of social problems in the United States. The system is inappropriately undervalued in that there is research evidence that it rescues many children from a life of failure. It is recommended that foster care be organized as a two-tiered system with one subsystem focusing on family status placement issues under the rubric of permanency planning and the second subsystem being focused upon treatment of youth who are at risk of becoming criminal in their life course development.
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