Q. Why are children in foster care?
A. Children usually come into foster care due to child abuse or neglect and the Juvenile Court has placed the child in the custody of our agency. Foster care is meant to be temporary. We work with the child's parents and other family members to resolve the problems that have resulted in child abuse or neglect. Our goal is for the child to have a permanent family as soon as possible. Often, the child will be able to return to the parents. If not, we may place the child with relatives. If this is not possible, the agency may seek an adoptive home for the child.
Q. What are foster parents?
A. Traditional Foster Parents provide temporary care for children while meeting emotional, physical, as well as educational, medical and recreational needs. Foster Parents are members of the foster care team working closely with child's foster care worker towards stabilizing the child and toward reunifying the family or finding the child a permanent home.
Q. What is foster to adopt?
A. Foster to Adopt Parents are regular foster parents that provide temporary care for children in care; however, the child(ren) placed in their homes may return to their birth parents. Foster to Adopt families may have several children placed in their home before one of those children become available for adoption. Many of our Foster to Adopt Families are interested in caring for very young children.
Q. What is Transitional Living (Independent Living)?
A. Independent Living Foster Parents provide care for children 14 - 21 years of age. Independent Living Foster Parents become role models and teachers to the adolescent teaching them how to be successful adults. Independent Living foster parents focus on helping the youth learn life skills, social skills, and community life. They can help guide them towards independence. Many of our Independent Living Foster Parents become life long "family" and support systems to our young people.
Q. What is adoption?
A. According to the Child Welfare League of America, in its National Adoption Standards, adoption is the means of transferring all the legal rights of a child to the parents as if that child had been born to those parents.
The value of adoption is that it provides children with the basic needs of every child: the legal status, social status, and commitment that come from having a family of your own in which to grow up.
The goal of adoption is to provide a child with a family that offers a lifetime relationship and commitment.
Q. What are the qualifications to be a foster parent or an adoptive parent?
A. Foster parents and adoptive parents can be married or single, with or without children already in their families. We are looking for individuals, couples, or families who can protect children and nurture them. Both foster and adoptive parents have to understand how children grow and develop, and how abuse and neglect affect that development.
Both foster and adoptive parents need to respect that the children placed with them will have feelings about their birth families. The older the child, the more memories and attachments there will be.
Foster parents need to help children maintain contact with their birth families, not only because most children do return to their families, but also because it is important to their self-esteem and identity. Visits between children and their families are important. The agency will work with you to arrange these contacts. Visits may be in the foster family's home. In other cases, foster parents may bring the children to the agency, local restaurants or community recreation areas for planned visits. Sometimes, foster parents build good relationships with the parents of the children in their care.
Q. How long does it take to become a foster or adoptive parent?
A. Some people think that because there is a shortage of foster and adoptive families, becoming a foster or adoptive parent happens quickly. However, the children need us to be careful about who become foster parents and adoptive parents because we don't want the children to be hurt any more.
The length of time it takes depends on many factors, including how quickly you provide the necessary documentation, secure a medical evaluation and FBI/Police clearances, and complete the mandatory 27 hours of pre-service training. We would like to have the home study completed within 120 days.
How soon a child is placed with you depends upon a number of factors as well. For example, if you are willing and able to foster or adopt older children, siblings or children with special needs you probably will be able to have a child placed with you more quickly. We also need foster homes for very young babies.
Q. Who are the children most likely to need foster families and adoptive families?
A. The population of children who are most likely to need foster families and adoptive families are similar:
- Teenagers
- Siblings who want and need to be together;
- Children of all ages;
- Children of all races;
- Children born exposed to alcohol and other drugs
Q. Can foster parents adopt the children placed in their home?
A. This may occur in cases where the child cannot return home or go to a relative and the parents' rights are terminated. The foster parents and the child must wish to make their relationship permanent. Foster parents will be considered for adoption if the agency believes this is in the best interest of the child. Almost half of our adoptions are by foster parents.
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