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Foster Parents
What is a
foster parent?
A foster parent is someone that has no custody over a
child but takes cares of a child that has entered the foster care system. A
foster parent has previously gone through required classes as well as
financial and emotional scanning to become a licensed guardian. Foster parents
are often assigned by governmental agencies and may or may not be relatives
of the child.
The following information is a
conjunction of overall requirements and steps although this can very from
state to state.
General requirements to be
a foster parent:
- Have to be 21
or older
- Have a
criminal back ground check done
- Have family
stability
- Have a regular
form of income
- Have their
home inspected for security
- Family
environment assessed
To become
a foster parent you must:
- Attend a type
of foster parent orientation
- Connect with a
state foster parent association
- Contact your
local department of child and family services
- Complete
several applications (such as family home license)
- Pre-service
training
- Stay connected
to hear from assigned social worker
Things to consider when becoming a foster parent:
- The child can
be between the ages of 0 months to 18 years.
- The child can
be a girl or a boy.
- Can form part
of a sibling group.
- Can very on
ethnicities and have different beliefs or culture.
- Can have
mental, physical, or medical problems.
- Can have
development difficulties or disabilities.
- Can have
previous exposure to drugs or alcohol.
- Some children
due not no how to live with others or cope whit out their family.
This site gives you information on agencies that work with
foster parents: <http://adoption.about.com/bl_fostermap.htm>.
Some foster parents after having caring for a foster child
might decide they would like to adopt the foster child. In other cases,
foster kids are able to be reunited with their families. On the following
page (Sally
insert link to interview) one can
read an interview with a family who went from being a foster family to a real
family.
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