For centuries foster care was nothing more than indentured service for children who needed a home. Those conditions persisted until the early 1900s when the government began to oversee foster care. Today becoming a foster parent requires licensure, ongoing training and a willingness to work closely with social service agencies.
Definition
Foster care protects children who are abused, abandoned or neglected by temporarily placing them with families outside their own home. The goal is to give them a safe and stable environment until they can return to their parent's care or until they're adopted.
Requirements
The basic requirements to become a licensed foster parent include completion of an application, a background and criminal history check, home inspection, an interview and training. The amount of training depends on the state you live in and the type of foster care you want to provide, but pre-service training (required before licensure) can be up to 45 hours. You may also have to meet yearly in-service training requirements.
Types
Traditional foster care, in which children are taken from their parents but with hope that the family will be reunited, is only one type of foster care. Adult foster care is provided for a group of adults who can't live on their own due to physical, developmental or emotional impairments. If you provide emergency foster care, you will care for a child who must be quickly removed from his own home due to severe circumstances. Long-term foster care results when a child can't return home as anticipated. Families sometimes choose to foster for a long time rather than adopt a foster child because this ensures they will receive ongoing intensive support. Short-term care and respite care are types of foster care designed to give parents a short break (just like babysitting), to help if an emergency arises or if children are temporarily removed from home while parents are being investigated.
Therapeutic
Therapeutic care is a type of foster care that provides intensive intervention. Therapeutic foster care is specifically designed for children who have a medical condition or who are mentally or emotionally disabled. Children needing therapeutic care may be delinquent or abuse drugs. Therapeutic foster care does not require previous experience with special-needs children, but you will go through extensive training and will have ongoing support from social workers. Therapeutic foster care is often a full-time job.
Foster Children
Children who enter foster care tend to fall into certain profiles. According to fosterparenting.com, neglect, physical abuse and not having a caretaker are the three most common reasons children are placed into foster care. Most of the younger children have medical problems and almost a quarter of them are diagnosed with developmental delays.
Foster Parents
If you're interested in becoming a foster parent, the first step is to contact your county's Department of Social Services, ask about foster parent orientation and get information about your state's process. The National Foster Parent Association suggests that you talk with current foster parents so that you can get a better sense of the energy and time commitment required. You'll need to be prepared for children who may arrive with no clothes or possessions, who will be scared, angry and may act out with behavior problems. You'll also need to be financially stable because even though you'll receive a stipend, it is not enough to cover all the children's needs.
