More than half a million children are currently in foster care in the U.S.
In the past, many foster care agencies would not consider foster parents as applicants for adoption, but this is no longer true. In fact, foster parents who are meeting a child's needs and willing to take on the added responsibilities of becoming a permanent parent are likely to be the first family considered.
In the health care and social services professions, there is a consensus that lesbian, gay and bisexual people should not be barred from serving as foster parents on the sole basis of their sexual orientation.