Hello everyone,
I was able to interview this week, Terumi Sagers, who is a long-time family friend. I am grateful for her help and insight. She and her husband have been foster parents for fifteen years, and she currently works at the Utah Foster Care Foundation for the Salt Lake region. She works in providing trainings for foster parents, and this is a short little bit of what she shared with me that may help be helpful for foster parents. I hope you enjoy.
Video Clip
Utah Foster Care Foundation: utahfostercare.org
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Book Review - Success As A Foster Parent: Everything You Need to Know About Foster Care
I read the book Success As A Foster Parent: Everything You Need to Know About Foster Care by the National Foster Parent Association. I found this book to be very useful for foster parents. It talks about getting into the foster care program, and all the steps required to join. There will be background checks, safety checks of your home, and many many visits from the organization to make sure you are a good fit for the program.
This book also goes through a list of "developmental milestones" and lists the ages at which a child should hit each stage. This is very useful because the child isn't with one parent from the beginning who knows to watch for these stages. Foster children go from one family to another and nobody is really there as a constant to watch for these milestones. Knowing what to expect from a child at each age will allow a foster parent to watch he child's development and make sure he/she is developing as they should. If not then steps can be taken to find out if there is a medical issue or something else going on.
The rest of the book is focused on the purpose of foster care, and ways to ease the trials of it. The book reminds foster parents that even though a child may not be appreciative, they are still doing a service for the child and her/his family. It reminds parents to stay focused on their purpose of joining the program, and reminds them that even if they want a young child, sometimes the need is for someone to foster a teen. It's okay to be a little discouraged by this, but it doesn't take away from the importance of the work in any way. It reminds parents to stay pretty open minded with children, to remember that they come from a different background than the foster parent, and so there are going to be problems as they learn to live together. But it is possible to make it work.
Overall, this book was very useful. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is part of the foster care program, or thinking of joining. It's a fairly short book and a pretty simple read. But it contains lots of information that is very helpful.
This book also goes through a list of "developmental milestones" and lists the ages at which a child should hit each stage. This is very useful because the child isn't with one parent from the beginning who knows to watch for these stages. Foster children go from one family to another and nobody is really there as a constant to watch for these milestones. Knowing what to expect from a child at each age will allow a foster parent to watch he child's development and make sure he/she is developing as they should. If not then steps can be taken to find out if there is a medical issue or something else going on.
The rest of the book is focused on the purpose of foster care, and ways to ease the trials of it. The book reminds foster parents that even though a child may not be appreciative, they are still doing a service for the child and her/his family. It reminds parents to stay focused on their purpose of joining the program, and reminds them that even if they want a young child, sometimes the need is for someone to foster a teen. It's okay to be a little discouraged by this, but it doesn't take away from the importance of the work in any way. It reminds parents to stay pretty open minded with children, to remember that they come from a different background than the foster parent, and so there are going to be problems as they learn to live together. But it is possible to make it work.
Overall, this book was very useful. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is part of the foster care program, or thinking of joining. It's a fairly short book and a pretty simple read. But it contains lots of information that is very helpful.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
What Does It Take To Become A Foster Parent?
In response to one of our
reader’s question “Is there more to being allowed to become a foster parent
than having the desire and maybe a clean record (as far as child related crimes
go)?” I have decided to make a list of the qualifications that one needs to
have to become a foster parent. Since I currently live in the state of Utah,
USA I thought I would take a look at what the state foster care program
required of individuals looking to become foster parents. Some of the
qualifications listed on http://utahfostercare.org/become-a-foster-parent/how-to-start/qualifications/
are:
- Foster parents may be married couples or single individuals aged 21 or older. Unmarried couples are unable to be licensed.
- Foster parents must be US citizens or permanent legal residents.
- Foster parents and all persons 18 and older in the home must pass background checks.
- Foster parents need to be financially stable and able to support their family without assistance from the state.
- Foster parents need to be healthy enough to care for children as determined by their own doctor.
- Foster parents will not be licensed to do both foster care and day care at the same time.
They also go on to state what the living arrangement
needs to pass to be a safe environment for the foster child to live. They
state:
- Your home needs to be clean, in good repair, and free from health and fire hazards.
- There must be a telephone in your home.
- Children of the same sex may share a room, but each must have their own bed.
- Bedrooms must have at least 60 square feet per child. If a child is in a room by themselves, the room should be 80 square feet.
- Your home needs smoke alarms on each floor and at least one approved fire extinguisher.
- You will need to have a first aid kit in your home.
- Medications must be locked up.
- You will also need to lock away any dangerous chemicals – including many cleaning supplies.
- Any firearms and ammunition in your home need to be locked up separately.
- If you have a pool or hot tub, it must be gated or have a locking cover.
If these qualifications
are met and one wants to pursue foster parenting over other options such as adoption
or respite care then the website says that they will invite you to attend
classes that will help you to become a licensed foster parent. They say, at
least in Utah, it takes around 4 to 6 months to become licensed.
In the United Kingdom
they also require future foster parents to go through a background check of sorts
in what they call Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks (https://www.gov.uk/foster-carers).
These checks include three types of criminal records checks from the Criminal
Records Bureau (CRB) and documentation provided from the individual such as a
passport or Biometric residence permit (UK). Foster Parents are also required
to get a health check and are required to attend group preparation sessions
while their suitability for foster care will be assessed. Like the US this can
take up to 6 months. The final decision rests on the fostering service whether
or not the person can be a foster parent.
References
(Feb 21, 2014).
Foster Carers. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/foster-carers
(Feb 21, 2014). Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) checks (previously CRB checks). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview
How to
Start. Retrieved from http://utahfostercare.org/become-a-foster-parent/how-to-start/
Qualifications.
Retrieved from http://utahfostercare.org/become-a-foster-parent/how-to-start/qualifications/
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