Foster Families: Are there such things as "long term" foster parents?

yes.

Yes, I know someone who raised 4 children who had the same bio-mother from toddlerhood to adulthood. They lived in NY State.

I also have friends who raised several foster children all the way to adulthood.

@freestyletrue Welcome to Fluther. Lurve.
I am glad to know there are foster families out there that do this.
In my unfortunate experience, most foster families are in it for the money, and take terrible care of the kids. The kids, of course, are no picnic.

I would love to be a foster parent someday, when my own kids are older, but only if I could stipulate that the children be under 6 years of age. I’m not sure they allow you to make up your own rules like that, and I also think it would be very, very hard for me to let the children go. :(

@MissAusten they do make stipulations like that, but the need is for people to take in tweens and teens.

Yes I have 2 long term foster brothers, and you can get residential care orders (in uk) where a releative/ friends/ etc… can get perental rights over a chidl and hove the child live with them, but don’t get paid the same as foster carers. (My paretns also have 2 children with them under this ruling)

@filmfann I know. Maybe once my own kids get past the tween and teen stage, I won’t be so intimidated by that age.