Basic Information
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. | | | Other requirements | | Requirements to become a foster parent vary from state to state, but this list covers the basics. | |  | 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. | | |
| | What kind of training is needed? | | Pre-placement training is required to help prepare prospective foster parents for issues that can arise after a child or sibling group is placed with them. Many children bring not only unique special needs, but a history of life experiences that may affect interactions with foster parents, other children in the family, school mates, and others. Issues related to disability, culture, early abuse, birth family members, etc., and should be discussed with your social worker to your satisfaction. These training and licensing programs go by various names (MAPP and others) and online training programs are also available. | | | Financial assistance | | All states offer financial support. The amount varies from state to state, but in all cases, you must be able to prove that your current family needs can be met without having to use any of this income. Many states also offer clothing, daycare and/or day camp allowances. | | | Interested? | If you are aware of the potential difficulties as well as the enormous rewards and think foster parenting is for you, consider the different types of foster care, contact your state Foster Care Specialist (or equivalent) to learn about training classes, and other licensing procedures.
Department of Social Services
744 P Street MS 19-73
Sacramento, CALIFORNIA 95814
916-324-9084
For more information please visit:
http://dcfs.co.la.ca.us/forparents/Fostercareinfo
http://childsword.ca.gov/fosterpare_350.htm
http://library.ca.gov/crb/01/08/01-008.pdf | |
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