This document will contain research done on foster care, including a brief history and progression of the system today. This research interested me because it is a professional career option after graduation. I have found both positives and negatives in the foster care system that children and foster parents go through on a daily basis. As the article progresses, I will explain these positives and negatives in more detail. Throughout this article, I will reference different scientific sources that explain foster care in different ways. Overall, this article will show different aspects of foster care that the general public may never know about. An adoptive parent, as defined by the Second Edition of the Health Reference Series, is a person authorized to provide a home to an orphaned, abused, or neglected child. , delinquent or disabled child (Matthews, 2004). A permanent placement is one that is intended to last forever, but is not guaranteed (Barth & Berry 1988). Foster care is not for offenders but a place for children to go when their parents can no longer care for them. A form of foster care always existed in early Christian churches, where “worthy widows” took in needy children and were paid from church collections. Foster care began in 1562, at the time of the English Poor Laws, which stipulated that poor children were allowed to be placed in legal wards until they reached adulthood (nfpaonline.org ). In the 1970s, foster care grew in popularity, but foster parents were considered unsuitable to permanently adopt children (Barth & Berry, 1988). In 1980, the Child Welfare Assistance in Adoption Act (Public Law 96-272) made it clear that the most desirable permanent placement for children was with their own families. The law...... middle of paper ......t with a child in the foster care system. This article gave me the opportunity to learn the positives and negatives as well as more details about the small parts of the foster care system that I didn't know existed. Although my goal is to help the child and think of their best interest, this article has shown me that parents, both biological and foster, are another important factor in helping children. This made me realize that I needed to meet with the parents and work with them to develop a plan that fit their lives. I will need to determine what problems they think are important to solve and how to achieve those solutions. Foster care is a complex system that will challenge me daily if I enter this specific field, but even though I work with children in a different environment, I must be aware that children come from all types of backgrounds..