to the child’s growth and development to place him with his biological parent. Allen, 28 Wn. App. at 647-48. Similarly, in In re Custody of Shields, 120 Wn. App. 108, 84 P.3d 905 (2004), the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s award of custody of a child to his stepmother following the death of the child’s father, even though the child’s mother was not unfit, because it was detrimental to the child to remove him from his de facto family where he had become well-integrated into the home of his stepmother, stepsister and half brother, prior to the death of his father. Finally, other Washington family law cases have recognized the importance of the psychological bond between a child and a caretaker. See, e.g., In re Dependency of J.H., 117 Wn.2d 460, 469, 815 P.2d 1380 (1991) (<HOLDING>); In re Custody of Stell, 56 Wn. App. 356,
recognizing that foster parents do not have a constitutionally protected liberty interest in a continued relationship with their foster child holding that a state had no affirmative duty to a child placed voluntarily by his parents into foster care since he was in the custody of his foster parents who were not state actors rather than in the states custody recognizing emotional bond between foster parents and child although ultimately determining foster parents did not have rights of parents in dependency action under chapter 2644 rcw holding that natural parents could not lose parental rights to foster parents where the foster agreement contemplates a surrender of custody for only a temporary period of time holding foster parents not liable for willful act of their foster child