This article critically analyzes the complex journey undertaken by foster families who decide to adopt the children or adolescents they initially cared for on a temporary basis. Through the study of four cases, it examines the experiences and perspectives of Chilean families who chose to transform their role from foster care to adoption, presenting narratives that highlight the controversies, inconsistencies, and tensions between the logics of temporary and permanent care within the Chilean child protection system. These tensions create a state of liminality in legal, institutional, emotional, and relational terms, affecting the subjectivities of all those involved. The article concludes by discussing how rigidly differentiated care logics may conflict with affective and relational dynamics, potentially undermining the fulfillment of the principle of the Best Interests of the Child.
