Waiting Children: Who They Are and How You Can Help

Waiting Children: Who They Are and How You Can Help

Photo by Chris Benson on UnsplashWaiting Children: Who They Are and How You Can HelpMaybe you know there are 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system. But did you know 115,000 of these children are considered ā€œwaiting childrenā€?Who are waiting children?Most often you’ve heard ā€œwaiting childrenā€ called ā€œfoster childrenā€ because they are currently in foster care. However, waiting children are children who will not be returning to their biological families. In fact, waiting children wait in foster care until they are adopted or they age out of the foster care system.When do foster children become waiting children?Similar to other children in foster care, waiting children were placed in foster care due to abuse, neglect or death that left them unable to reside with their biological family. But after a series of court hearings and attempts towards stability, the biological family’s parental rights were taken away so the child does