If you are a foster parent, that has adopted one of the children that has come through your home, you need to investigate resources that may be available to your family. Post adoptive support may be available to your family. Lutheran Social Services is an agency that provides support to adoptive families. A lot of adoptive families do continue foster care after they have adopted, so a lot of these services can also benefit foster parents.

The have support groups for the parents, that meet on a regular basis and child care can be provided (YEAH!!). They can also help you get in touch with therapists, doctors with specialties, support groups for disabilities, specialized training and can help you find your way through the maze of fostering and adopting.

They also provide resources for adopted children including counseling, summer camps, and activities to help children develop social skills.

One of the major pluses they can offer is weekend retreats for parents to come together to share experiences, to learn more skills that can strengthen marriages and your parenting skills. My husband and I go on one retreat a year, everything is paid for hotel, food and entertainment. We also get reimbursement for the care of our children including the foster children in our care, while we attend the retreat.

This can be a great opportunity for foster parents to have quality time together and time to get refocused. You also can use the training hours from the retreat towards the hours needed for ongoing foster parent training. Most of the resources that are provided from post adoption services are at no cost to you. Some agencies also look for additional ways to help parents in the future and look for ideas from parents themselves.

This may not be the traditional way to get training as a foster parent or to make time for a marriage retreat. We as foster parents have to remember to take time for our marriage and our families.

Foster parents dealing with stress, click here to read at adopting.org.