Here is an overview of how the foster care process works in California at Alternative Family Services, highlighting the main steps of foster care from removal to reunification, adoption, long-term care or emancipation.

1. How the
Foster Care
Process
Works
The steps of foster care from
removal to reunification,
adoption, long-term care or
emancipation

2. When Is a
Child
Removed
From
Their
Home?
An allegation of abuse or neglect
is reported, or police respond to a
call that results in Child Protective
Services (CPS) being called.
Sometimes, numerous calls are
made prior to CPS involvement.
When a primary caretaker is no
longer able to take care of a child
– for example, if a parent is
incarcerated or hospitalized
for behavioral health reasons.

3. Who Investigates Abuse and
Neglect Allegations?
County Child Protective Services (CPS) and sometimes the Community Care
Licensing (CCL) Division of the California Department of Social Services
conduct investigations into abuse and neglect. Foster Family Agencies (FFAs)
work collaboratively with these organizations the entire time a youth is placed
in care to establish the best individual case plan for the client and their family.

4. What Happens After a
Child is First Removed
From Their Home?
At this stage, AFS works with the
County to find the best possible
home for the children or teens.
Ideally youth are placed into a
home-based setting.
In San Francisco they may be placed
in our Emergency Shelter program.
A child or teen may stay for a
limited time at a shelter home or a
county facility.

5. How Child Intake
Works at AFS
After a child or teen has been
removed from their home and is
awaiting placement, a County
caseworker calls an AFS Intake
Coordinator to see if we have a
qualified home.
Simultaneously, the county starts a
concurrent placement search within
the county or at other FFAs in case
AFS does not have an appropriate
placement. This includes doing
a relative/kinship search.

6. What AFS Intake Coordinators Do
The AFS Intake Coordinator matches a foster
youth with certified resource parents who best
meets the needs of the whole child including:
proximity to the child's original school
and community, special needs accommodations,
compatible cultural and religious beliefs and
appropriate level of training based on the client's
needs.
Once a resource family is identified, the Intake
Coordinator calls the County Placement worker to
offer the homes or sometimes homes for
placement. An additional family evaluation is
conducted by some counties prior to placement.
Often, AFS receives very little information about
the youth being placed in care, especially if this is
a first-time removal. The time it takes a county to
determine if the child or teen will be placed
varies based on the investigation into abuse and
neglect. It may take hours or days to place a
youth with resource parents.

7. AFS Finds a
Placement
– What
Happens
Next?
• Once the county decides on an
appropriate placement, arrangements
are made for the youth to be
transported to the home. If a county
worker transports a placement, an
AFS caseworker meets the youth at the
home to help settle them in and
complete the placement paperwork.
AFS typically ensures everything is in
place with the fostering family – crib,
car seats, beds, etc.
• An AFS caseworker is assigned to the
client and family at time of placement.
The caseworker is expected to visit the
resource home within 24 hours of
placement (weekends excluded).
• A Child and Family Team (CFT) is formed
with representatives from AFS and the
placing county. Together, they form a
case plan with the ultimate goal of
permanency.

8. How Does
Reunification
Work?
• When possible, the goal is to
reunify foster youth with their
biological families.
• While youth are in AFS care, staff
provides biological parents with
various levels of care including
therapy, life skills, job and housing
support and addiction resources.
AFS strives to heal and stabilize the
parents to prepare them to reunify
with their child or teen.
• Once reunification is approved,
a county worker typically picks up
the youth and facilitates the
reunification.

9. What If a Child Can't
Be Reunited With
Biological Family?
• Permanency is our main goal. If
reunifying with biological parents is not
an option, AFS helps identify potential
relatives who may be able to care for
the child or teen.
• When kinship placement is not
available, AFS assess resource parents
to determine if it's possible for the
client to be adopted.
• When adoption is not viable, AFS finds
a long-term supportive resource home
for placement and supports the
youth in preparing for emancipation.

10. Learn More About Foster Care
For more information about how
foster care works in California, check
out these resources:
• https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/foster-
care
• https://www.afs4kids.org/become-foster-
parent/
• https://www.afs4kids.org/services/