So, you have an interest in foster care? Do you know how to become a foster parent? Foster care involves taking care of children ages zero to eighteen years, who are Wards of the state, in which you reside. A child meets the criteria of a Ward when there is Child Protection Service and Juvenile Court intervention. If this is the case, a child is temporarily removed from the home and immediately placed in a foster home or residential placement. In most instances, children ages zero to twelve years are placed in foster homes and teenagers are placed in a residential facility.

When a child is removed from the home, an initial hearing is held within seventy-two hours. It is at the initial hearing that the juvenile court will determine, based on facts, if the child will either go home with the parents/caregivers or continue to be kept in protective custody. If the court determines that the child is found to be in need of services; and safety would be compromised with continued stay with the parents/caregivers, then the child enters the foster care system as a full Ward.

Foster parenting, for many, is a rewarding job and those who are foster parents have volunteered for this mission. Fostering is not a "calling" for everyone. Becoming a foster parent means that you are willing to take a foster child or foster children in your home and provide him/them with the nurture, love, stimulation, protection, and security that they failed to receive with their parents/caregivers. The foster children that will enter your foster home come from all walks of life and from every situation imaginable. They may be a product of abuse, neglect, drug addiction, incest, abandonment, and other social ills.

Becoming a foster parent is a labor of love: You have to submit a registration application at your local welfare agency. The application involves a background check (all household members eighteen years and older), biographical information, financial information, CPR certified, complete physical, attend foster home training, and be willing to have a comprehensive interview with the foster home licensing worker. Once licensed, you must maintain your CPR, take annual foster home training, and attend pertinent meetings pertaining to your license.

Your foster home must be licensed to receive children. This means that your home must meet the state requirement of having smoke detectors on each level of your home. There must be two ways out of the foster home, and a fire extinguisher (ABC) on each level of your home. You must have the appropriate number of beds to accommodate the number of children that the state says you can have on your license. Foster parents must understand the reunification process. Reunification takes place when the parents have satisfied the court, worked all services ordered, and is now ready to be reunified with their child/ren. Foster parents must understand that if reunification takes place, the foster parents are to be supportive of the child/ren returning home.

Foster parents are paid a per diem by their state in behalf of the foster child. The child is entitled to per diem and medicaid. Each state's per diem amount is different and is paid by the age category of the child.The per diem is used for expenses (clothes, foods, etc...) of the foster child and not income for the foster parents. It is required that the foster parents have their own source of independent income.

Unfortunately, there remains a shortage of good foster homes. Dedicated foster parents have been known to do fostering for decades, and still have the energy and motivation to help more children. When reunification does not take place, the foster parents have the option of adopting these children and making them a permanent part of their family. Foster parenting for the most part, is a wonderful experience.