Requirements To Be a Foster Parent

Must be at least 21 or 25 years old in some areas

Criminal background check and fingerprinting

Stable income - not dependent on reimbursements to support your family

Dependable transportation, and driver’s licenses

Have a bedroom with the required square footage

Attain the required training hours (You will have to do training annually)

Home study

Pass a health and fire inspection

Time to care for a child

CPR and first aid

Your state and agency will or may have additional requirements.

You will go through four steps to become a foster parent, which I will go over.

Orientation
Information on foster care and the agency. They will present you the information and paperwork. They will let you decide if fostering is for you and if the agency is right for you. This will be a great place to get any questions you may have, answered. They will go over the basics of foster care, reimbursement, adoption or foster care, etc..They will ask if you will be foster care, foster to adopt or adoption.

Training
You will be attending classes for a few weeks or a few months depending on your agency and the type of foster care you have decided to do. This will also include first aid and CPR. This training will help you understand the difficulties that face the children you will be working with. Yes, a lot of us have parented children but remember that these children have endured great traumas in their short lives. The classes may help you on deciding what kind of children you want to work with and what disabilities you can handle. This is a great time to ask any questions or address any concerns you may have.


Continued the next two steps.....................


“Some make it happen, some watch it happen, and some say, "What happened?"
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