Types of Foster Care

Posted on April 29, 2008
Filed Under Foster Care |

This is an ongoing weekly series as I complete the training and approval process for therapeutic foster care. I am by no means an expert and laws differ by state. The series is written in response to the questions that I am asking myself as I go through the process and I hope it might be helpful to others who are considering foster care.

Most of the people who are in my class are answering an ad in the newspaper. These ads are usually run by private foster care agencies that focus primarily on therapeutic foster care or foster to adoption programs. If you are considering becoming a foster parent, it is important that you understand the different types of foster care along with the different challenges they each present and take some time to consider which might be right for your family.

These are presented in the approximate order that a child would be going through them. Keep in mind that depending on the individual situation, any of these steps might be skipped, rearranged or happen multiple times.

Emergency Foster care is usually the initial step in a child’s journey. This would be a temporary placement for a shorter period of time while the child’s situation is being evaluated by the court system and a more permanent placement is found. Some foster parents choose to only do emergency placements and some work them in with other types of placements. Children entering foster care need a place where they can feel safe and cared for when they are scared, hurt and homesick. To find out more about emergency foster care, contact your local department of social services (DSS).

Kinship Foster care is the preferred placement for most children. This is where the foster child is placed with a relative. This is preferred because it maintains the family ties and keeps the child within their own heritage and culture. Sometimes this is the first placement if there is family member who is close enough and stable enough to take on the child. If a child in your extended family is being placed into foster care, you may be asked to foster them or you may want to volunteer.

Traditional Foster care is where most children end up if their goal is reunification with their parents or family and their behavior is such that they fit somewhat easily into a family environment. Traditional foster care is meant to be a temporary situation, however, temporary can still mean years. Children in traditional foster care usually do not require extensive treatment or therapy and finding a stable and caring foster home can help prevent those challenges from ever occurring. If you are considering foster care, you will want to check the rates that your state pays as well as the requirements for a foster home. Be prepared to have a home study, background investigation and finger print check depending on your state and local requirements. Training can vary from none to the full 40 - 50 hour training class. Contact your local DSS for more information.

Foster to Adoption placements happen when the parents rights are being terminated or given up. This can happen anywhere along the timeline and the best case for the child is to go as quickly as possible into a permanent home. Families who are looking to adopt often take children who are currently in the foster system but are likely to be available for adoption. This type of placement limits the number of transitions that a child will have to go through before finding a forever family. The home study for a foster to adoption placement is usually more intense than for fostering. In my state you have to go through orientation, training, credit checks, background investigation, health evaluations, etc. Foster to Adoption placements can happen either through a private agency or through your local DSS.

Residential care or a group home can be chosen for many reasons. Often there is no traditional foster home available and children are placed into residential or group homes until a traditional placement can be found for them. They may also be placed in residential care if they have emotional, mental or developmental challenges that require more intensive therapy to overcome. The goal is almost always to move these children on to a traditional or therapeutic foster home or to adoption.

Therapeutic or Treatment Foster parents are families who have gone through extensive training on dealing with the emotional, developmental and physical challenges of some foster children. Foster children who are in therapeutic care are usually older preteen children, teenage children and children with some type of challenge. Therapeutic foster parents in my state have to undergo training, background investigation, health evaluation, fingerprint checks for any adults living in the household. The stipend is roughly twice as much as for traditional fostering, however, there is much more time invested in traveling to different appointments, working through issues with schools, therapists, doctors appointments, ongoing training, etc. Again, this can be done through a private agency or through your local DSS.

While I am going through training for therapeutic foster care, I am still considering which type of care might be the best choice for me. I find that my prior experience as well as the excellent training I am going through is causing me to question where I will be the most successful and taking a more realistic look at what my challenges will be. Next week’s post will be on questions to ask yourself when considering whether becoming a foster parent is right for you.

Help keep me awake to write by buying me a cup of coffee! .