What is MA DCF “Foster Care?”

“Foster Care” is provided to a child who has been removed from their home due to abuse or neglect concerns at the child’s home. Foster care offers children a home until the children are moved into a different placement, or until the child is reunited with their family.

Foster care is also called “substitute care” because it is a child’s substitute home, in a way.

What is a “Foster Home?”

A “Foster Home” is the home of a foster care family. A foster home can also be the home of a child’s relative who the child is living with, or the home of another family (who the child is unfamiliar with) in which the child is living.

Foster homes include the following:

  • Shelters
  • Assessment beds
  • Pre-Adoptive homes
  • Residential placements