Children, families, and foster care: analysis and recommendations.

All children do best when they live in safe, stable, and nurturing families, yet far too many children lack this fundamental foundation. Every year, millions of children are abused or neglected—close to 300,000 so egregiously that they are removed from their homes by the state and placed in foster care. For too many of these children, foster care is no safe haven. Instead, the children drift from foster home to foster home, lingering in care while awaiting a permanent, “forever family.” In 1998, The Future of Children examined the problem of child maltreatment and offered recommendations for preventing abuse and neglect. This journal issue focuses on the challenges of helping children after abuse and neglect has occurred by strengthening the web of supports for children and families in foster care.