This paper reviews the current status of foster care in New York City through an analysis of relevant research studies. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section summarizes the results and implications of five major foster care research projects based in New York City. Reviewed in this section are such topics as the characteristics of foster children and their natural families, placement experiences of foster children, a cost-benefit analysis, and changes needed in the areas of program administration, adoption, and preventive services. The second and third sections of the paper represent two invited responses to, and analyses of, these research findings. The second section reviews the implications of this research for the development of appropriate foster care programs and policies. The third section presents a discussion of the development of public policies in the areas of foster care and general child welfare. The paper also includes two appendices. The first appendix describes the five research studies on which the paper is based. The second appendix provides an annotated directory of groups involved in the provision of foster care services. (BD)