Why does foster care have a negative reputation?

Answer 1

Lots of reasons

It's a tough job for the foster parents; kids that come in sometimes have a big load of baggage with them. You get 6 year olds who have enough sexual experience to make the foster parents blush. You've got kids that have a hard time trusting because of all of the broken promises. You have kids who have learned to steal and lie to survive. You have kids who have never seen a functional family and don't know how to react once they start seeing one. It's next to impossible to get solid information about what the kids have gone through.

On the flip side, some foster parents are no better (or even worse) than the bad homes that the kids have left. Some of them abuse (physically, emotionally, sexually) the kids in their care. Some of them are in it for the money, and deliberately shortchange the kids to make more money.