Know your boundaries when it comes to being a foster parent.
Each year in Pennsylvania hundreds of children require the safety, nurturing and security of a foster home, and await the day when their natural parents are able to care for them. Most foster caregivers do not know all their rights. If you are considering becoming a foster parent, it is important to learn your legal rights and know your boundaries.
Terminate Natural Parent's Rights
If adoption of a foster child is sought by the foster parent, it is possible in the state of Pennsylvania to terminate the rights of the natural parent. There are several ways of handling the process, including adoption and custody proceedings. A family attorney can assist you in the hearings; in some instances, if the natural parents do not claim the child, you can receive a judicial order to terminate the natural parent's rights.
Natural Parental Rights
Since the child is your responsibility while under the foster care program and you are the designated caregiver, in Pennsylvania you have similar rights to parenting as the natural parents. During the foster period, the welfare agency holds the legal custody to the child. As the foster parent, you are allowed to punish the child to an extent, receive payment for any services performed for the child, and preserve the honesty and integrity of the family unit. At any time, however, the welfare agency can terminate the foster parent's rights.
Custody
Although foster parents do not have sole legal custody of the child, they have the right to fight for custody if it is in the child's best interest. In cases where the natural parents reclaim the child, the foster parent has the right to a hearing in order to provide evidence that removing the child from the foster home will negatively benefit the child. If the custody battle goes in favor of the foster parent, the state of Pennsylvania will grant full custody to the foster parent and the adoption process will commence.
Tags: foster parent, natural parents, custody child, child foster, child foster parent, foster home