Adoption and Child Welfare Protection in France

Abstract : This article presents the French Child Protection system which is managed by the Child Welfare of local authorities (Aide Sociale à l'Enfance) and the Judicial Juvenile Protection depending on the central government (Protection Judiciaire de la Jeunesse). Children's Judges are involved in child protection. The majority of children in care live in foster families and were placed after court orders. All the administrative and judicial measures on families are revised each year, even in case of long-term placements. Foster carers received professional training and are supported by the teams of the foster care agencies. Working on child-parents ties, is a necessity because the majority of the birth parents retain their parental responsibility. In the French tradition, there is a great reluctance to break families ties. The authors present the adoption policy and practice with its two systems (full adoption and simple adoption) and the foster family care system. The evolution of care situations is argued.