Is Foster Care Right for Your Family? Take Our 10-Minute Questionnaire!
As of
June 2025
in Polk, Highlands and Hardee Counties there are...
1,118
children in out-of-home care
375
of these are placed in a foster
or group home setting
100
more foster families still needed to support our youth
Do you have the heart to care and home to share?
Listen to this message from our Executive Team
What is Foster Care?
"Being a foster parent means being able to help children and their families heal and help them move to the next stages in their lives. It's an amazing thing to see children get reunited with their parents, family, brothers, sisters, and knowing you had a part in it."
- Lauren, Foster Caregiver
How do I become a foster Parent?
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Contact our Licensing Team - Complete the online inquiry form or call 863-519-8900 x 289 to get started.
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Attend a Foster Care Info Session - We host virtual and in-person info sessions every month - check out our calendar.
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Sign-up for a Foster Care Class - Every month we have new 4-Week Hybrid Foster Care Classes starting that are either on the weekends or weeknights.
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Complete Required Homework - You'll be assigned a Licensing Specialist to walk with you through the process, conduct a home visit, collect required homework and will complete your home study.
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Get Licensed - Most of our families are licensed within 30 days of completing class and ready to start opening their homes to children.
Foster care Mythbusters
MYTH: I could never foster a teenager because their behavior would be too difficult to manage.
FACT: Many people have had this fear, and many foster parents will tell you it is absolutely not true. These children are not in care due to anything that they did. They have been placed in care as a result of abuse or neglect that was NOT their fault. With support and nurturing, our teens have received academic and athletic scholarships to college; they have become doctors, teachers, laborers, pastors, and social workers, along with many other careers. All they need are dedicated parents to step forward and take a chance on them, thereby helping them reach their full potential.
FACT: Foster parents can be single, married or living in a committed relationship with someone. However, you must be at least 21 years old.
FACT: You may live in a home, mobile home or apartment, as long as there is adequate space for children.
FACT: The goal for children in foster care is to be reunified with their biological families, so this is not the best way to expand your family by adoption. We want our foster parents to be in support of helping families reunite. We have a specific track designed specifically for those families wanting to adopt children, so fostering is NOT the best way to permanently expand your family.
FACT: Foster parents may absolutely have pets! We know that many animals are naturally responsive to human emotions and can often offer a calming effect for children. Your licensing counselor can explain any documentation required for pets.
FACT: Even if they are only with you for a short time, you may be the one person that can make a positive change in a child’s life forever. By building relationships with biological families, you could continue to have contact with a child even after they successfully reunite with their parents.
FACT: This is absolutely not true, as every foster parent must meet strict requirements regarding their own financial stability before they can even be considered as a foster parent. Foster parents receive a small monthly stipend to offset the expense of having a child in their home; they are not paid an income to be foster parents.
FACT: We love our foster parents and value the commitment they are making for children! There are MANY supports available, and every foster parent not only has their own licensing specialist assigned to their home, but they will receive support from case managers, Guardian Ad Litems, child care centers and many additional supports!
FACT: Our primary goal is for children to reunify with their families, and we have a high success rate for reunification with the birth family. Our foster parents are proud of their success in helping a child reunify with their family.
FACT: Our foster parents work in partnership with our birth parents and try to build a relationship for the sake of the children. Your privacy is always secure, and no one will be given your address unless you give it to them. We have many foster parents that invite birth parents to join them at their homes for holiday meals, birthdays or other events.
If you'd like to become a foster caregiver and you're located in Polk, Highlands or Hardee Counties, we'd love to connect with you at 863-519-8900 x 289. If you're outside of these counties,
we'd recommend you connect with your local agency.