When a child is fostered there has to be a legal agreement. The person who looks after them instead of their own parents is called a “foster parent”. The child is made a “ward” of court, which means that power is given through the court of law to the foster parent to look after them. The foster parent(s) is "“in loco parentis”", meaning: “in the place of the parent”. They can make decisions about the child because the real parent(s) are not able to do this.