DOI: 10.1542/peds.2026-077417 ISSN: 0031-4005
Developmental Challenges of Young Children in Foster Care: Policy Statement
Douglas Waite, Adiaha Spinks-Franklin, Jessica Simkins, , Mary Booth Vaden Greiner, Molly Curtin Berkoff, Julia Marie Bledsoe, Camille Broussard, Kristine A Campbell, Kathryn W Carlsen, Adrienne Wallace Carmack, James Gabel Kaferly, Rachael Keefe, Gauri Kolhatkar, Rebecca Seltzer, Lisa Zetley, , Jennifer Kinwa Poon, Marilyn Christine Augustyn, Robin Krause Blitz, Yi Hui Liu, Adiaha Idara Anopawuia Spinks-Franklin, Alexis Tchaconas, Jennifer Marlene Zubler, Peter J. Joseph Smith, Sonia Ann Monteiro, John Ichiro Takayama, Jennifer WaltonThis policy statement updates a previous statement to reflect advances in our understanding of both prenatal and postnatal environmental influences on early brain development, including the effects of alcohol and substance exposures prior to birth and the effects of severe or chronic stress on child development secondary to neglect, physical and sexual abuse, family disruption, poverty, and racism. The accompanying clinical report provides a detailed examination of the developmental challenges faced by children in foster care younger than 5 years.