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Foster Care

Foster Care is a service by which families offer temporary care for minor children who are not able to live with their biological parents. A foster home is a temporary home for children, who have been abused, neglected or abandoned, or have specific physical or medical challenges. Foster families provide a loving, safe and secure home like setting for children while their parents are working getting support, training, and services so that they can be reunited with their children.

Children of all ages, races and genders, from newborn babies to teenagers up to the age of 18 enter foster care and our goal is to place them with a local family.

The placement of children into foster care is intended to be a temporary living situation. Children can live with a foster family anywhere from a week to a year or longer while the parents work with community resources to help them resolve the issues that caused the children to be removed.

Foster parents receive a monthly stipend, which is intended to cover a portion of the child's expenses while living in the home. Married couples, single adults and legally divorced and widowed adults are eligible to apply to be a foster parent. All applicants must be 21 years of age or older. There is no minimum income requirement, but applicants must have legal and stable income that is sufficient to support themselves and their families.

We are looking for families who can...
 
Enhance and make a difference in a child's life
Help children and their families through difficult times
Provide long-lasting guidance and care to help children grow and mature
Learn and develop new parenting skills to meet the diverse needs of each child

Steps to Becoming a Foster Parent

  1. Complete a basic screening questionnaire and attend an orientation meeting.
  2. Participate in a 30-hour training program called the Model Approach to Partnership in Training (MAPP).
  3. Participate in a 15-hour Behavior Analysts class called Tools for Positive Parenting.
  4. Complete a personal history interview conducted in your home by a Licensing Representative. The licensing representative will visit your home at least twice during and after the training period.
  5. Complete required background screenings for criminal history or reports of child abuse.
  6. Participate in home and health inspections.
  7. Provide Health Screening documentation.
  8. Complete character references, including personal and employment references. School references are required if you have school-age children at home.

To get started call Lacy Jurnigan at (863)519-8900 ext. 289.