> I don't even really want to foster, let alone try to get rich exploiting state payments for caring for kids. One, you can't. The expenses will always exceed whatever they pay you.

I'm sure if you are sufficiently neglectful you could probably turn a profit.

> They don't seem to give a crap about the kids who are already legally free, and have even gone so far as to discourage being open about looking to adopt because apparently the state is reluctant to even place kids with you at all since their priority is the exact opposite, to reunite with the birth parents.

In California it actually used to be illegal for foster parents to adopt the children they had fostered, due to the conflict of interest. They changed that, and we encountered no issues fostering as willing to adopt (and in fact Judges would move kids to homes like ours to light a fire under birth parents; a "move towards permanency"). However, we were told by our agency that we were, under no circumstances, to directly raise any objections to reunification with the county, but to instead relay through them. Anything that even looks like interfering with reunification is a huge no-no.