Foster care is a temporary living arrangement for kids whose parents aren’t able to care for them. The ultimate goal is to reunite children with their birth parents or relatives.
The monthly reimbursement will cover basic needs, but you’ll likely spend more than what you get back. It’s important to network with others who are in the same boat as you during training and beyond.
What You Need to Know
While the foster care system has long been viewed as a temporary arrangement, it is important for prospective foster parents to understand that children may remain in foster homes for much longer than expected. Approximately half of children in foster care will reunify with their birth parents or enter permanency (adoption or legal guardianship) with other relatives. Foster families will be asked to support reunification efforts, including facilitating visitation and attending court hearings.
During training, prospective foster parents will receive extensive education about the types of issues they will face. Foster parents also receive ongoing support from their caseworkers and other professionals. Some states provide respite care programs and other services to help ensure that foster parents have the resources they need.
In addition to monthly reimbursement, potential foster parents should be prepared for the expense of food, clothing and daycare for the child(ren) placed in their home. It is helpful to have a savings account to cover these expenses, as well as a flexible work schedule to allow for unexpected child-related events like doctor’s appointments. Some state agencies offer daycare vouchers or contracts with providers that accept them. It’s also beneficial to network with other foster parents during training, as you will make lifelong friends who will be there for you when you need them. These friendships can save your sanity during the toughest times in foster care, especially if you are caring for traumatized children.
Preparing for a Placement
Before your first placement, you’ll get plenty of training and learn the basics of fostering. Your agency will also assign a caseworker to work with you. This person will be able to help you with issues like visiting schedules for parents and siblings or finding out when there are legal hearings that might impact the child’s placement in your home.
It’s important to remember that fostering is not easy. It can be very challenging to care for children who are hurting or who have experienced trauma. It’s not uncommon for them to act out, and they may not want to be in your care. It’s very important to stay connected to family and friends, but also to your foster agency. If you have a question, don’t hesitate to ask. Most of the time, someone else has had that same question before and can provide you with the answers you need.
It’s also okay if your house isn’t perfect when the social worker or other staff members come to visit. Depending on the age of the kids, it’s probably going to be a mess most of the time anyway. Save up vacation and personal time as much as you can so you’re prepared for the busy times when appointments and visits are scheduled. This will also give you something to look forward to when the kids aren’t around.
Taking in a Child
Children in foster care have been removed from their parents because they cannot provide them with safe and loving homes. These kids range in age from infants to teens, and many are eventually able to return home with their birth parents. However, some need permanent homes through adoption. Whether you are a foster parent or considering becoming one, it is essential to be prepared for the unexpected.
During the process of fostering, social services will visit your home three times. During these visits, they will inspect your house and verify that you have enough space to accommodate a foster child. Additionally, you will have to prepare a room for each child and make sure that all required safety equipment is in place.
When the time comes for a placement, be ready to welcome the child into your home and give them the love and attention they deserve. It may take some time for the foster child to trust you, but you should always be patient and encourage them. In addition, you should be open to the possibility that certain parenting techniques that worked for your biological children won’t work with your foster kids.
Most importantly, never physically discipline a foster child. This can trigger trauma and lead to psychological problems. If you notice that a child is struggling, reach out to your agency for help. They may provide respite care or offer additional in-home support such as Intensive Placement Stabilization (IPS).
Taking Care of a Child
Fostering children is a rewarding, challenging and important part of the care system. Foster carers provide safe and loving homes to children and young people who cannot live with their families for a variety of reasons, including abuse, neglect and abandonment. They also advocate for them and work as a team with the child’s parents, other professionals and the local department of social services to support the child’s educational and developmental needs. Foster carers also keep records, manage sometimes challenging behavior and continue to build their own skills through training and experience.
Ideally, children in foster care return to their parents if they can resolve the problems that led to their removal, or find other family members willing to adopt them. However, this isn’t always possible. And even when it is, many children spend long periods of time in foster care before they are either reunified with their parents or moved to a permanent placement such as a relative’s home, an adoption or a guardianship arrangement.
Youth who grow up in the foster care system are at a greater risk of poor health, truancy, substance abuse, depression and unemployment and are more likely to have contact with law enforcement. They are also less likely to attend college, and many of them experience homelessness, incarceration and a lack of stable housing.