Specialty Permanency Practice Exam 2025 – The All-in-One Guide to Mastering Your Certification!

Foster care is not considered a primary permanency goal because it serves primarily as a temporary arrangement for children who cannot safely remain with their birth families. The focus of foster care is to provide a safe and nurturing environment while working on plans for reunification or other permanent solutions for the child.

In contrast, reunification, adoption, and guardianship are all recognized permanency goals that aim to establish a stable, long-term living situation for a child. Reunification focuses on restoring the child to their birth family whenever possible and safe. Adoption involves providing a permanent family for the child when reunification is not an option, enabling the child to create new, stable family ties. Guardianship establishes a long-term caregiving arrangement with a relative or significant other, ensuring that the child's needs are met outside their birth family but with a level of permanence.

Thus, while foster care plays a crucial role in the child welfare system, it does not fulfill the same purpose as the primary permanency goals aimed at providing lasting stability and security for children.