Foster parents provide a temporary home to children who, for a variety of reasons, cannot live with their birth families and need a safe, loving environment to develop physical, mental and emotional health. While providing refuge to children, foster families also work as a team to plan for each foster child's future permanent living arrangement. Foster families living in Stafford, Va. receive support through counseling agencies and local social services.
Responsibilities
Foster families provide a safe and supportive environment for children who have been separated from their birth families, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services. Sometimes children are separated from their birth parents by court order because of abuse or neglect. At other times, birth families voluntarily seek foster care for their children. Either way, foster parents are responsible for providing their charges with the basics--food, clothing, shelter, emotional support and medical care. They are also responsible for overseeing the children's education by communicating closely with teachers and caseworkers assigned to the children by social services. Additional responsibilities include communicating with mental health professionals needed to help the children, as well as providing informal counsel focused on helping the children cope with being separated from their families. In Stafford, foster families are required to create a "Life Book" with their foster children. A unique combination of a story, diary and scrapbook, the Life Book is designed to help foster children make peace with the past and develop confidence for the future. Finally, foster parents are held accountable for helping their children plan for a permanent living arrangement. The planning process involves the foster parent, child, caseworker and sometimes the birth family, and any professionals who communicate regularly with the child. Sometimes, children are returned to their birth families. However, more than 90 percent of children within Virginia's foster care system have been permanently adopted by their foster families as of October 2010.
Requirements
Applicants for foster parenting must show themselves to be responsible, healthy adults with a stable income, reliable transportation and a safe home, reports the National Foster Parent Association. Applicants must pass background checks and a home inspection. In Virginia, applicants are also required to attend orientation and undergo comprehensive training, as well as regular continuing education, reports the nonprofit resource Faces of Virginia Families.
Compensation
Foster families receive some monetary compensation for the children that they foster, reports Faces of Virginia. Compensation, however, is meant to be used for living expenses related to the children's care and is not to be viewed as a salary. Compensation amounts range from $448 to $666 per month based on the age of the child. Families are also given an annual allowance to use exclusively for clothing. Foster children in Virginia are also eligible for Medicaid and free school lunches, regardless of the family's financial standing.
Considerations
Becoming a foster parent is a life-altering decision that will affect everyone in the foster family. Faces of Virginia recommends giving serious thought to whether you are prepared to be a foster parent. An important consideration is the readiness of family members, such as your spouse and any biological children you have. It is also important to carefully choose a foster care agency. Some agencies specialize in children who have special needs or are of a particular age. Likewise, some agencies saddle caseworkers with larger loads than others. If it's important to you that your caseworker has time and energy to focus at length on helping you meet your foster child's needs, then case load is something to investigate and consider. While you may interview as many agencies as you like, you may be contractually bound to use one particularly agency after you accept your first foster child. Faces of Virginia recommends talking with other foster parents to get a feel for the agencies before signing with anyone. Finally, even though most children fostered in Virginia are permanently adopted by their foster families, the agency has the right to remove a foster child at any time prior to completing an adoption. Potential foster families must be prepared to cope with the sudden absence of a foster child.
Support
Once you decide to foster a child in Stafford, support is available from Faces of Virginia, foster agencies and the local social services department. In addition to providing comprehensive information online, members of Faces of Virginia participate in peer-led meet-ups and support groups. Foster agencies offer respite care by providing a temporary caregiver for foster children during periods when foster parents and children may need to be separate from each other. Finally, the Stafford Department of Social Services hosts an annual banquet for local foster families every May.
