My children went into foster care 1/1/16 and got out July 12/16 can I claim them? In South Carolina

[carolinabarbie20]

Even if I had unsupervised visits that was more time than the 12 extra days the foster parent had

[carolinabarbie20]

Unsupervised overnight visits

[Hal_Al]

No. They lived with you less than half the year. A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled

2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.

3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico

5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own

6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer; such as the foster parents. 

[carolinabarbie20]

Even if I had unsupervised overnight stays with the kids that make up for the 12 days

[Hal_Al]

Maybe. It really come down to whether the foster parents will be trying to claim them.  In the case of divorced parents, visitation days count as custody days. In a foster situation, visitation days could be classified as only temporaray absences from the foster parents and would still count as custody days for them. You won't know for sure until the IRS rules on conflicting claims.
If the foster parents aren't going to claim them, you should. If they are going to claim them, you can try too and the IRS will sort it out