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Foster Parent and Child

Interested in becoming a foster parent? E-mail us  to find out more and to see if you qualify.

Exploring Foster Parenting

Foster parents provide a temporary, safe home for children in crisis. They are part of the child’s support, treatment, and care programs. They are partners of the child’s social worker, attorney, teachers, and doctors. Being a foster parent is not a passive act of opening one’s home and providing food, clothing, and shelter. For some it’s a first step toward adoption.

For others it’s a proactive statement of nurturing, advocacy, and love. But it’s not for everyone.

Children who need foster families have been removed from their birth family homes for reasons of neglect, abuse, abandonment, or other issues endangering their health and/or safety. Many of these children are filled with fear, anger, confusion, or a sense of powerlessness at having been removed from the only home they have ever known. Many are sibling groups, older children, or young teens. Some have developmental, physical, emotional, or behavioral problems.

They all need safe, supportive environments.

Can you?

These are questions to ask yourself before taking the next step:Can you love and care for a child who has come from a difficult background?

  • Can you love and care for a child who has come from a difficult background?
  • Can you help a child develop a sense of belonging in your home even though the stay is temporary?
  • Can you love a child who, because of a fear of rejection, does not easily love you back?
  • Are you secure in yourself and your parenting skills?
  • Can you set clear limits, and be both firm and understanding in your discipline?
  • Do you view bed-wetting, lying, defiance, and minor destructiveness as symptoms of a child in need?
  • Can you tolerate major failures and small successes?
  • Can you accept assistance and guidance from trained social workers?
  • Can you maintain a positive attitude toward a child’s parents; even though many of the problems the child is experiencing is a direct result of the parent’s actions?
  • Can you love with all of your heart and then let go?

Basic Requirements

Requirements to become a foster parent vary from state to state, but this list covers the basics. Be sure to check with the Foster Care Specialist (or equivalent) in your state or province for detailed information.

  • Be at least 21 years old.
  • Have enough room (and beds) in your home for a foster child to sleep and keep his or her belongings.
  • Live in a home that can meet basic fire, safety and sanitary standards.
  • Be physically and emotionally capable of caring for children and have no alcohol or drug abuse problems.
  • Be able to pass a criminal background check and have no substantiated record of abusing or neglecting children.
  • Make enough money to provide for your own family, so you do not need to depend on the foster care reimbursement you receive from the state as income.

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