The goal is to return foster children to their biological parents. When this not feasible, the child should be placed for adoption. According to ChildTrends (2017), "The number of children in foster care increased during the 1990s, from 400,000 in 1990 to 570,000 in 1999, before dropping to 397,000 by 2012 (par. 1). Nationally, approximately 150,000 children are available for adoption. Nearly 40 percent of the …show more content…
However, when move into an adoptive home, a number of critical events occur. First, the child must begin to realize that he or she will not be returning to his or her biological parents. Even if the child has been extended foster care, the child may continue to harbor the fantasy of returning to his or her biological family. Adoptive parents must help the child move through this fantasy; it will not be given up easily. Gradually, the fantasy will be abandoned by the child, often resulting in the child entering a stage of mourning for his or her biological