Steps to Becoming Foster Parents

Who Can Become Foster Parents

Services

Donations

Foster Family Responsibilities

To the Child:

Provide a safe and comfortable home for the child to live in with a separate bed and place for his/her belongings.
Provide for the child’s basic physical and emotional needs as you would your own child.
To provide for school attendance, monitor progress, not special needs and accomplishments.
To provide appropriate clothing.
To attend to medical and dental needs including regular checkups as well as attending to special needs.
To help children through the grieving and adjustment process that accompanies removal from their own home and placement.
To help maintain a realistic relationship with their family through cooperation with visitation and active consideration to children’s feelings.
To assist children in preparing to return home or being moved to an adoptive home.
To provide recreational and enrichment activities that will promote the healthy development of the child.
To maintain a record for children of their time in care, developmental milestones, photographs, report cards, etc.
To provide consistent and realistic discipline and guidance that is age appropriate and does not involve corporal punishment.

To the agency:

To keep the agency informed of problems and progress of foster children including immediate notification if they run away.
To keep the agency informed of changes in your home including change in address, and phone number, deaths or departures of immediate family members, additions to family, notification before vacations, etc.
To be available for meetings with agency workers.
To attend foster parent training opportunities and comply with the agency’s training policy.
Give a minimum of 30 days notice when requesting removal of a child.
Cooperate with agency workers to implement plan for family reunification or permanent placement.
Comply with state regulations and agency policies and procedures.

To Birth Parents:

To cooperate with visitation; if visitation is in your home to assist in making parent feel comfortable and allowing time with a child.
To help the child maintain a realistic perception and attitude toward own parents.
When requested by the worker, to model and discuss appropriate behavior with the parent.
To provide necessary and appropriate information about a child’s growth and development, likes, dislikes, etc. to the parent.
To prepare the child to return home.

To foster parents own family:

To discuss openly with all members the decision to foster, to allow participation in decision to accept a particular child.
To make every effort to maintain a usual lifestyle and relationships while providing foster care, including private time with own family members.
To help all members understand the impact taking in a foster child may have on family routine, etc.
To prepare all members for the arrival of foster children, including discussion of the foster children’s special needs.
To prepare for and support all members as they cope with the departure of a child.