Valuing Substitute Families:Financial Support for Foster and Adoptive Families

We examine current child welfare policy meant to encourage families to do the caring labor of fostering and adopting. Existing subsidy policy does not adequately insure foster and adoptive families against the financial risk associated with caring for children who have been victims of abuse or neglect. We call for a recasting of exiting programs as insurance. An insurance program would protect current substitute families and would attract additional substitute families who currently do not participate because of the “doing it for the money” stigma that surrounds the existing program.