Foster care has a long history in Croatia, although research on foster care is rare, and most studies are focused on the consequences of children staying in foster families or on foster parents. The aim of this research is to analyze the foster care of children in Croatia, as well as the influence of social workers on this process in terms of improving foster care. It can be said that the adoption process itself begins with the existence of motivation in the potential foster parent and the decision to provide foster care, followed by application to the competent center for social welfare, followed by selection of the foster care team, and then training of foster parents in order to obtain permission to provide foster care before the user, i.e. the child, is placed in a foster family. Emphasis on the promotion and expansion of non-institutional types of care for children and adults is a key guideline for the development of the global social welfare system, as well as in the Republic of Croatia. Upon joining the European Union, the Government of the Republic of Croatia committed itself to adopting new regulations, and at the same time to act in accordance with the well-being of all people, including children, which must be particularly respected by the social welfare system. This indicates that, in terms of deinstitutionalization, a special focus should be placed on foster care, with even more attention paid to the improvement and promotion of foster care in Croatia, which remains a significant difficulty to date.