Frequently Asked Questions About Foster Care

"Specialized" indicates these children have emotional and behavioral problems serious enough to interfere with their success in traditional foster care settings. Specialized foster parents must appreciate and understand that foster children require specialized and intensive parenting.

Specialized foster kids come from many ethnic and racial backgrounds. They typically have been separated from their biological families because of neglect and abuse. They have emotional wounds to heal. They often have survival skills but few social skills. However, they share one common thread. All of these children need a loving family and a place to call home.

As a Specialized Foster Parent you will receive the following:

Clinical Support: Each child is assigned a case manager and therapist to work closely with you and the child, to ensure all needs are met.

Personal Support You are as important to us as our children. We have staff on-call 24/7 to assist with emergencies.

Training You will receive training during the licensure process. Trainings are then offered on a monthly basis to satisfy a 10 hour per year requirement for continued licensure. Sometimes you will receive additional training to care for children with different needs.

Financial Support Foster parents receive a monthly payment to cover the child's food, shelter, clothing, personal allowance and extra curricular activities. They also receive monthly compensation per child and the child or children are totally covered for medical and dental services. You receive free specialized training from experienced clinical staff.

Medical Support Each foster child receives a medical card (Medicaid) that pays for most necessary medical care and prescriptions.

a. Foster parents must be at least 21 years of age, have income to financially support their household and be in good physical and mental health.

b. They must be willing to support foster children's contact with their biological parents and cooperate with the agency's efforts to reunite them with their families or prepare them for permanent homes through adoption.

c. Children are placed in foster homes by matching their needs with the foster parent's or families situations. You will never be asked to accept a foster child you are not prepared to help. You select the level of needs and age group of the children you would like to foster.

Absolutely not! We have grandparents who are specialized foster parents.

The process will take anywhere from 4 to 5 months. It is a very comprehensive process and it takes total commitment on the part of your entire family. There are mandatory trainings, assessments and an interview process. This is a “selective” process. Not all applicants become Foster Parents.

There are many reasons why reunification is not always possible. Sometimes the parents are deceased. Sometimes one or both parents suffer from chronic mental illness, are incarcerated, or cannot successfully recover from addictions. In such cases, the goal is to find an adoptive home or a guardian for the child.

Yes. This can happen when the child cannot be reunited with his or her biological parents and the legal system has terminated the biological parent’s parental rights. Rather than moving the child to another foster home, many foster parents decide to become the child's guardian or to adopt the child.