Think about the rewards

Being a foster parent means you and your family will experience the joy and importance of accepting a child into your care.

• As a foster parent, accepting a child into your care means:
  • Welcoming the child into your family and your home
  • Providing a healthy family experience for the child
  • Helping the child feel safe and secure
  • Creating a stable and caring environment that encourages the child’s growth and development
  • Protecting and nurturing the child
  • Building the child’s self-esteem
  • Keeping the child connected to his or her own family’s culture and religious identity
  • Meeting the child’s developmental needs, watching him or her overcome obstacles, and helping the child learn and mature
  • Becoming part of a national network of individuals who provide care and support for vulnerable children
• Helping a child grow and mature while in your care is very rewarding.

Think about the challenges

You and your family members need to consider the changes in each of your lives as you adjust to the needs of a child placed in your care.

• As a foster parent, you need to be willing to:
  • Be a temporary caregiver, when the goal for the child is to return home or be placed with a relative
  • Work directly with birth parents toward returning the child home
  • Consider adoption if the child is unable to return home
  • Work through the difficulties and struggles some children present because of their history of abuse, neglect and trauma
  • Be part of a team of individuals who work with the child - like the social worker, therapists, teachers, the child’s family, and others
  • Help recruit other families willing to foster and adopt or adopt only, so that families will be waiting for children when they need a family
• Understand that foster care is temporary and saying good-bye is not always easy
• The child placed in your care will need a place to sleep, a place for recreation, and a place to keep personal belongings. You may need to rearrange space, schedules, and plans to meet the needs of the child.
• Realize that foster parenting is a big step for individuals and families and you should take time to carefully consider the changes it will bring.