How Long Do Kids Stay with Foster Parents on Average?

The time it takes to change a life.

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When people first consider fostering, one of the most commonly Googled questions is: “How long to kids usually stay with parents on average?”*

*Yes, most people do search for answers with that typo, but we get what they’re asking.

It’s a good question—and an important one. Not just because it affects your family’s calendar, but because behind every number is a story. A real child in the hardest chapter of their life. And someone like you, stepping in during that chapter to help rewrite the next one.

The Numbers

On paper, children in foster care stay with a foster family for 12 to 24 months. Every situation is different. Some only stay in the foster care system a few weeks. Others, need a family for several years. But here's what the numbers don’t capture:

The year a child spends in your home might be the safest, most stable year of their life. It might be the year they learn how to sleep through the night without fear. The year they find their voice over family dinner. The year someone shows up to their school play.

So maybe the better question is this: What can happen in a year?

Behind the Numbers: What It’s Really Like to Be a Foster Parent

Jordan was four years old when he entered foster care. For the next six years, he bounced between group homes and short-term facilities, waiting for a family of his own. He was 10 when a couple finally saw him and stepped up.  

He arrived at his foster parents’ doorstep late one night, wearing clothes two sizes too big and a nervous expression. He had no clue how a family worked. He’d never really had parents before. But he wasn’t alone in that uncharted territory.

His foster family—Mark and Lacey—weren’t long-time foster parents. In fact, Jordan was not only their first placement, but their first child. They’d wrestled with all the same doubts: What if we get too attached? What if we can’t say “yes” to forever?

But they decided to say yes for one season. To one child.

In that season, Jordan had his first ever birthday party. He learned how to cook pancakes. He fell asleep every night to the sound of his foster mom’s voice reading to him. And he discovered Jesus.  

He still had hard days—of course he did. But over time, safety and love began to chip away at fear and mistrust.

After eight months, another local, more experienced foster family stepped up to offer Jordan a place in their family — forever. With them, Jordan got older siblings who could model healthy relationships, a mom who could devote every day to his care and a dad who shared his adoption story.  

On the day Jordan left, Mark and Lacey smiled and cried as they helped their sweet boy pack up his room. He was so excited to finally get adopted, a day he’d waited seven years for. Though their hearts hurt with the loss they felt, they reveled in the knowledge that they got to be the bridge between Jordan’s painful past and the bright future that awaited him.

Before letting them leave after dropping him off at his new home, Jordan squeezed Mark and Lacey with all his strength. “I love you, forever. Thank you,” he whispered.

What Makes a Season Worth It?

How does a kid get put into foster care? It usually happens during a season of crisis for their family. Foster care isn’t easy. But it doesn’t have to be a life-long commitment. You can do it just long enough to help a child and their family through their toughest season. That’s what many prospective foster parents don’t realize.

While some cases, like Jordan’s, end in adoption, the goal is almost always reunification—to help children safely return to their birth families. And that process takes time — time for parents to heal, learn and rebuild.

That time—whether it’s one month or one year—is where you come in.

You don’t have to foster forever. You just have to show up for one child during one of the hardest seasons of their life. You don’t have to have all the answers. You just need a safe home and an open heart.

Because kids in foster care don’t need perfect people.
They need present people—people willing to be a safe harbor in their storm.

Say “Yes” for a Year

Foster care doesn’t have to change your entire life to change a child’s. We challenge you to say “yes” to a child in foster care for one year as watch how God uses you to rewrite their story. You don’t have to have it all figured out or even have parenting experience. Whatever amount of time you can give, God can use you to make a difference.

Right now, a child is waiting for someone to step up and give them hope for the future. Will that someone be you?