Note: Stay up-to-date on foster care and adoptive parenting issues with my weekly newsletter.
Foster Care Basics
The interest and desire to want to help children in foster care is admirable. Foster care comes with its rewards as well as its challenges. While each State of the U.S. or other country that offers foster care differs on basic guidelines and jargon, parenting the children seems to be the same, a child in need is a child in need.
- Why Do Children Enter the Foster Care System?
- Who Can Be a Foster Parent?
- State by State Guidelines, Regulations, and Basic Contact Information
- How to Become a Foster Parent
- Deciding if Foster Parenting Is for You and Your Family
- What Kind of Financial Support Do Foster Parents Receive? or What Is a Foster Care Subsidy?
- What Are the Steps to Family Reunification within the Foster Care System?
Types of Foster Care
There are many different ways to serve as a foster parent. Here are a few of the different foster care options:
- Respite Foster Care
- Long-term Foster Care
- Therapeutic Foster Care
- Kinship Foster Care
- Foster Care Adoption
Preparation for Foster Care
In order to be an effective foster parent, it's important to remember to prepare all aspects of your life - from your home to your relationships.
- 10 Things You Can Do Now to Be Ready to Do Foster Care Later
- Is the Timing Right to Consider Foster Care?
- Top 10 Questions to Ask When Called to take a Foster Child
- Preparing Your Children for Foster Care
- Reluctant to Be a Dad - Some Guys Have Cold Feet
- 10 Surefire Ways to Destroy a Perfectly Good Marriage with Foster Care
- Grandparents - How to Support Your Foster Parenting Child
- 10 Surefire Ways to End a Friendship with a Foster Parenting Friend
- How to Set Up a Closet & Bedroom for an Older Foster Child
- Bare Necessities: Basic Baby Needs
Basic Foster Parenting Issues
Foster parents need to be aware of the different skills and challenges related to being a foster care provider.
- 6 Foster Care Skills to Know Before Becoming a Foster Parent
- The Challenges of Being a Foster Parent
- Understanding a Child's Grief and Loss
- Understanding Abuse and Neglect
- How to Create a Connection with Your Foster Child
- 10 Things to Do When Kids Fight
- 14 Ways to Focus on Culture
- Teaching Foster Children How to Answer Questions
- Foster Care Record Keeping with Printable Worksheets
- Why Do Foster Care Disruptions Occur? - When Children Are Moved From Foster Home to Foster Home
Working as a Part of a Foster Care Team of Professionals
Foster parents have the responsibility of being part of a professional team working towards helping a foster child and his or her family reunify or transition into an adoptive family. This means foster parents will be working with social workers, teachers, doctors, therapists, and others.
- Be Prepared to Participate and Work with a Foster Care Social Worker
- When Foster Parents First Meet Birth Family
- What to Share in a Parent Teacher Meeting
Other Ways to Help Foster Children
Sometimes foster care is not a right fit for a family, other times it's just not for right now, meaning perhaps later in life foster care will work better around your schedule or family situation. But there are always other ways to help a foster child. Consider:
- Other Ways to Help Children in Foster Care
- Being a CASA Volunteer Advocate for Children
- Support Your Foster Parenting Friends
- Support Your Foster Parenting Children or Grandchildren
Want to be the kind of foster parents that can help a child move on from a life of abuse and neglect? Sign up for a free e-course today, Learn How to Be a Great Foster Parent in 5 Weeks
