Every child needs a stable attachment to at least one parenting adult—it’s key to one’s development and well-being. But sometimes, a child’s home environment does not meet their safety and care needs. In these cases, children may enter into what’s known as the foster care system.
At Spurwink, we provide behavioral health care for children and adults in Maine through a variety of services, including children in foster care and their families. Our Treatment Foster Care program has supported dozens of children in foster care by partnering with resource families every step of the way—assisting with the matching process, providing case management and advocacy for youth in care, and supporting and providing education to foster parents throughout their journey.
Spurwink also partners with Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in A Family for ME, a program that raises awareness of the urgent need for foster parents and finds Maine families who are willing and able to parent foster children.
Through the Adoption Matching Program, Spurwink works alongside DHHS to pair licensed families with children awaiting adoption, utilizing a data-driven software system demonstrated to improve care outcomes and an intake process that recognizes each family’s unique composition, experiences, and needs.
What is Foster Care?
When their home environment is not meeting a child’s safety needs, they may live in temporary out-of-home placements known as foster care. In the U.S., foster care is a service provided by states, monitored by courts, and supported by the federal government through funding and legislation.
How Does Foster Care Work?
Foster care may become necessary when a child’s needs come to the attention of child welfare agency staff. This process often starts with reports of abuse or neglect.
While the preferred option is to place children in the care of relatives (called “kinship care”), if no relatives are able to care for the child, then the child’s caseworker will begin looking for non-relative caregivers. During this period, caseworkers are responsible for children’s safety and needs—keeping them in school, obtaining medical care, maintaining their connections with family, and finding safe long-term family situations.
Many children in the foster care system are placed with non-relative foster parents. These individuals are typically trained and licensed by the state, so they are well equipped to provide adequate shelter and care. In Maine, kinship care providers are encouraged to become licensed foster parents as well.
Once children are placed with foster families, the foster parents are responsible for providing food, shelter, clothing, transportation, love and support, and medical, behavioral, and dental care. Though foster parents have a legal duty to care for foster children in these ways, legal custody lies with the state. Foster parents make many decisions about raising and providing care to the child, while certain other decisions are made by the state.
Instead of foster family placements, some children are placed in congregate care settings, such as group homes and qualified residential treatment programs. This typically happens when children require specific psychological or behavioral services that can’t be administered in home-based settings.
Foster care is meant to be a temporary measure. Most often—nearly half of the time—children in foster care reunite with their parents or guardians after safety issues have been resolved and the parent(s)/guardian(s) have proven they can provide proper care. Sometimes, foster families legally adopt their children. Others “age out” of the system, when they reach what’s known as the “age of majority”—18, 21, or when they finish high school, depending on the state. In Maine, the age of majority is 18, but some youth in foster care receive extended support from DHHS and stay in their foster home up to age 23.
Most children who leave foster care don’t return to it. According to a 2025 report, about 20% of children entering foster care in 2021 had been in the system previously.
How Many Children are in Foster Care
In the U.S., about 400,000 children are currently in foster care, according to recent federal data.
As of February 2026, there are 2,017 children in foster care in Maine. The number of children in foster care in Maine hit a 20-year high of 2,579 in July 2024. But that number has since been declining.
Do Foster Parents Get Paid?
While foster parents aren’t paid a salary for fostering children, they do receive a monthly stipend, with rates set by each state. This stipend is a non-taxable payment that can only be used for certain purposes, like food, clothing, household necessities, school supplies, extracurriculars, and personal hygiene for the child. If parents foster children with complex medical needs, they may receive additional funding to help cover the child’s health care costs.
Become a Foster Parent in Maine
Spurwink offers an array of services to support foster families in Maine. If you’re interested in becoming a foster family or looking for guidance, we can provide information, education, and in-home support services.
- Through the A Family for ME program, we help recruit families for fostering and adoptive care. May is a busy month for our recruitment team—learn more about fostering at one of our upcoming events.
- Spurwink’s Treatment Foster Care program partners with families that foster children whose behavioral needs require ongoing, intensive support. We provide additional support, training, and opportunities to get together as a community.
- Our Adoption Matching Program pairs licensed families with children awaiting adoption. Spurwink’s AMP team hosts several events for licensed families throughout the year to help match youth in need with willing families.
