Barbara and Loretta Neal, ages 8 and 9, of Winston Salem, N.C., for their question:

WHAT ARE FOSTER PARENTS?

By law, foster children differ from adopted children. An adopted child has all the legal rights of a member of the family that raises him or her. A foster child does not. Adoption is the process by which people take a child who is not born to them and raise him or her as a permanent member of their family. A foster child is usually just a temporary member of the family.

A foster parent is a person who provides a home for a boy or girl who is not a member of his family. Often foster parents will take care of two or more children at the same time.Today about 170,000 married couples in the United States serve as foster parents. Most of these couples have children of their own, too.

Public or private social agencies usually have the basic responsibilities for the children that find their way into foster homes. Foster parents then care for the youngsters under the direction and supervision of the various agencies.

Many agencies find foster parents for children whose natural parents cannot provide adequate care. In other cases, the natural parents have abused, neglected or deserted the children and the courts take charge.

Sometimes natural parents suffer from long term physical or mental illnesses. The separation from his family and the adjustment to a foster family can be an unpleasant experience for a child. But with a proper foster home and fine foster parents, a child will find a family environment that will encourage him to grow up normally.

Often foster parents, natural parents and social agencies work together in planning the care of each child. Some children stay in foster homes until they reach adulthood while others find the stay only to be temporary.

Some children leave their foster parents and return to their natural homes after their natural parents become capable of giving them proper care. In other cases, where there is no chance of returning to a natural home, the social agencies are sometimes able to find adoptive homes for the children.

In the United States, a foster parent must be licensed by his home state's government before he is given authorization to care for foster children.

License requirements for foster parents are very strict. A foster parent must be in good health, have adequate housing and have certain qualities of personality and family life that indicate he will do a good job with a foster child.

Social agencies generally pay for part of the clothing, food and medical care required by foster children under their supervision