3 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Foster Care Family

Many people consider becoming a foster care family because they have the space and feel they can offer a child a stable and loving environment. This decision should not be taken lightly; many foster parents have taken years to make their final decision before starting the application process. Here, independent foster care agency Capstone suggest a few things you should take into serious consideration before making your final decision to apply to become a foster carer.

Do You Have The Time?

Any child you welcome through your door becomes part of your family whether they need short term fostering due to family illness or long term fostering while they wait to be adopted or have been removed from the home due to abuse or neglect.

It is so important to realize that many of these children can have behavioral problems. Some have stayed in numerous homes and others have had difficult family homes. Often you will find a foster child requires a lot more attention than your own children. As such, it may be necessary to take time off work to ensure that the child settles into their new home environment and routine.

Consider The Impact on Your Own Family

Foster parents can be anyone whether single, married or living with their partner as long as they are over the age of twenty one. The application process alone can take six months or longer and it’s essential that the entire family understand the impacts of welcoming a foster child into their lives.

Fostering is a very rewarding experience, but it can cause family problems if the entire family is not aware of what to expect, especially when the child being fostered has developmental or behavioral problems. Foster agencies provide extensive training to the whole family to minimize any of these problems, however the impact should be fully considered.

Can You Let Go?

As a foster parent it’s important to be able to let go. A child may be in a foster home for a year or more before being moved on, but by then bonds have formed and as rewarding as it may be to see how that child has developed and grown with your nurturing, it can also be heart-breaking to watch as a child that may have become an important member of your family leaves to return home or to join their new adoptive family.

Foster care is an essential process for children who are unable to stay in their own homes for any reason. As a foster parent you are offering a nurturing, loving and stable environment for that child, welcoming them into your family with open arms. Be sure it is the right decision for your whole family before applying.

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10 Responses to 3 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Foster Care Family
  1. Amy Foster
    April 9, 2013 | 10:42 pm

    Since giving quality care is a crucial part of being a foster family, it’s important that all family members should be ready in all aspects, especially in emotional matters.

  2. Tess Young
    April 11, 2013 | 6:31 pm

    Hello There,
    I just wanted to see if you were currently interested in additional guest bloggers for your blog site.
    I see that you’ve accepted some guest posters in the past – are there any specific guidelines you need me to follow while making submissions?
    If you’re open to submissions, whom would I need to send them to?
    I’m eager to send some contributions to your blog and think that I can cover some interesting topics.
    Thanks for your time,
    Tess

  3. John
    April 25, 2013 | 3:59 pm
  4. John
    April 25, 2013 | 4:00 pm
  5. Forest Mccarthy
    May 15, 2013 | 7:53 am

    »Play Video The brother and sister taken from the foster parents, who were trying to adopt the kids. We blurred the pictures to protect the identities of the children.

  6. Melba E. Benton
    May 17, 2013 | 5:18 am

    When an allegation of abuse or neglect has been made, the case is investigated by CPS workers. The decision of the CPS worker to remove the child from the home or to provide in-home services to keep the family intact is the first that affects the types of cases that caseworkers ultimately work with in foster care. All three agencies espoused a strong belief in providing preventive services to families so that children need not be removed from the home, except under the most extreme circumstances when their safety is in peril. In-home services and referrals to treatment and other services are commonly provided through CPS or family preservation units to serve children and families in their homes, and workers reported these services are often effective in preventing removal of the children. The cases in which children are removed from the home represent the most serious cases where in-home services have proven ineffective to address the family’s problems. Severe mental illness and long-term drug dependency are problems that face many of the parents served by all three agencies and were frequently the underlying cause of the child’s removal from the home.

  7. Priscilla Decker
    May 26, 2013 | 10:58 pm

    To help kids in foster care adjust, every child is assigned a social worker, who might also be called a caseworker. His or her job is to make up a plan for each child. The plan describes what kind of help the family needs so that they can be together again. The social worker checks on how everyone is doing and arranges visits with the kid’s mom or dad — and his or her brothers and sisters if they aren’t living in the same foster home.

  8. gold price
    June 25, 2013 | 1:56 am

    »Play Video The brother and sister taken from the foster parents, who were trying to adopt the kids. We blurred the pictures to protect the identities of the children.

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    August 11, 2013 | 1:05 am

    Good thing I bumped into this site which gave me an idea about foster parenting.

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