If you have room in your heart and home, you can make a difference in the life of a child in need by becoming a foster parent.
Ideally, children should remain with their actual families whenever possible. Although foster care services offered by the Commonwealth of Virginia make every effort to keep families together, it isn't always possible. An array of prevention services may be provided to assist families in remaining intact, but if it is determined that a child cannot remain at home and enters foster care, a host of other services become available. These services are designed to promote child safety and well-being within a nurturing, family environment and are tailored to each child's unique needs.
You, as a foster parent, can make an incredible difference by providing a safe and caring home for children in need of foster care. If you have a desire to nurture a child who needs a safe place to live, if you feel called to care for children who have lived through difficult experiences, if you think it is the right time to open your heart and home to these children, consider becoming a foster parent.
For more information on becoming a foster, adoptive, resource or kinship parent, please contact your local department of social services or call 1-888-VDSS-2DA (1-888-837-7232).
Children are placed in foster care either by order of a court (involuntary) or because their parents are willing to have them cared for temporarily outside the home (voluntary). An involuntary placement occurs when a child has been abused or neglected (or may be at risk of abuse or neglect) by his or her parent or someone else in the household, or because a court has determined that in the best interest of the child they are in need of supervision. The court then orders the child removed from the home and determines the length of the placement.
A voluntary placement occurs when parents decide that they are temporarily unable to care for their child for reasons other than abuse or neglect. For example, the family is experiencing a serious medical, emotional, and/or financial problem. The parents sign a voluntary placement agreement that lists the responsibilities of the parents and the agency during the child's placement.
The Role of a Foster Parent
As a foster parent, you play an important role in a child's life and have the opportunity to provide much-needed love and care. You are responsible for the temporary care and nurturing of a child who has been placed outside his or her own home. During a time of disruption and change, you are giving a child a home, love and a family. At the same time, your role includes working with the caseworker and the child's family so that the child can return home safely, when appropriate. In many instances, a child is placed outside of his or her home for a short period of time while the birth parents or family receive the support and services needed to make it possible for the child to be reunited with them. Other children may need an alternative plan to aid them in finding a safe, loving, permanent home. In those instances many foster parents choose to become that permanent home through adoption. In Virginia, more than 90% of children in care are adopted by their foster families.
The role of the foster parent is to:
- Provide temporary care for children, giving them a safe, stable, loving and nurturing environment
- Cooperate with the caseworker and the child's parents in carrying out a permanency plan, including participating in developing the plan
- Understand the need for, and goals of, family visits and assist with those visits
- Help the child cope with the separation from his or her home
- Provide guidance, discipline, a good example, and as many positive experiences as possible
- Encourage and supervise school attendance, participate in teacher conferences, and keep the child's caseworker informed about any special educational needs
- Work with the agency in arranging for the child's regular and/or special medical and dental care
- Work with the child on creating a "Life Book," which is a combination of a story, diary, and scrapbook that can help children understand their past experiences so they can feel better about themselves and be better prepared for the future
- Inform the caseworker promptly about any problems or concerns so that the child's needs can be met through available services
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Permanency Plans
As a foster parent, you are a continuing presence in the child's life. You are familiar with the child's personality and emotional and intellectual development since you care for him or her 24 hours a day.
Therefore, you can contribute valuable information about the child as you work closely with the caseworker/agency, participate in meetings about the child, and communicate with the parents. Foster parents are often the main source of information about how a child is adjusting to the separation from home, interacting with other children and performing in school.
Even more important, you are a primary source of support for the child. When you have a positive, healthy relationship with your foster children, you help build their trust in adults. This helps prepare them for changes in their living situation that might be necessary to achieve their permanency goal. For example, they may return home or they may be adopted. As you continue to nurture the child day after day, you are helping to plan for his or her permanency.
Foster parents can help plan for permanency through parent-child visits, contacts with the caseworker, service plan reviews, court hearings and discharge activities.
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Support Available to Foster Parents
As a foster parent, you are part of a "team" working together for the sake of permanency for your children. Each child's team is as unique to that child as his or her permanency plan and the individuals involved in the child's life. Generally, the team consists of the foster parents, the birth parents, the child, the caseworker, and the attorneys who represent the child. It may also include service providers, school personnel, health care providers and other family members. This means that you are not alone in caring for the child. You have support. It also means that you may meet with the child's family in visits and case conferences, and you keep the caseworker up to date on how the child is progressing.
Working as a team member makes sense. If you don't meet the child's parents, you may have an unrealistic image of them in your mind. They may feel uncertainty and anxiety about your ability to care for their child if they don't get to know you. All of this could have a negative effect on the child. Children will feel better about themselves and about living in your home if they know that their parents and foster parents are working together to provide a permanent home for them.
The monthly board rate, which is set according to the child's age, is intended to provide funds for the foster parents to use for the care of the child. The monthly board rate includes funding for room and board, clothing, personal care, recreation, and for older children, a monthly allowance. An annual clothing allowance is also provided for each child in foster care and is also based on age.
FACES (Family Advocacy, Collaboration, Empowerment, and Support) of Virginia Families is a non-profit association that offers information, support and resources for foster, adoptive and kinship families to help you meet the special needs of your children. It also offers a support system by networking with others who share your passion to serve and by celebrating the differences we can make in the lives of children. Visit http://facesofvirginia.org/ to find out more.
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