First Steps to Getting Involved with Foster Care (in Big or Small Ways)
Every year in the United States, 30,000 youth age out of foster care without any family to call home. Most of these youth end up living on less than $8,000 a year — and many end up homeless or in jail.
Put simply, we are failing kids in foster care and we need to do better.
There are many ways (large or small) to get involved with foster care — and all are important. The first step to getting involved is knowing your options.
Volunteering
We cannot stress how important volunteering is when it comes to foster care. For many kids, a volunteer is their only consistent throughout their time in foster care. Some of these relationships even grow to the point that kids consider a volunteer a part of their family.
All volunteering options require background checks and some also require additional training before starting. Here are some volunteering options:
CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate): These judge-appointed volunteers advocate for a child’s best interest in court. Building a personal relationship with youth to make sure their opinions and needs are expressed in court can lead to better-informed legal decisions that greatly impact their current and future life. To be a CASA volunteer, you will need to complete a 30-hour training and stay with a case until it’s closed (1.5 years on average). To get started, find a local CASA program near you.
Youth Advocate Programs (YAP) Mentor: These mentors meet with youth in foster care multiple times a week for several months in order to build essential skills through fun activities and time together. To get started, find a local YAP program near you.
Childcare for Kids in Foster Care: Many counties have volunteer childcare positions open for their foster care programs which can include caregiver nights out or supervised visitation with biological families. Contact your local human services department to learn more. To find your local human services department Google search your city and “Department of Human Services” (for example: Denver Department of Human Services).
Become a Driver: Providing transportation to and from mandatory appointments or school can be a huge help for foster families and help them avoid burnout. Contact a local foster care agency to get started. You must have a valid driver’s license and insurance.
Virtual volunteering: Help build out a database of resources — from the comfort of your home — for foster families and youth as well as for those looking to volunteer or donate. No comprehensive foster care database currently exists despite the fact that it is sorely needed. This database will allow organizations to create more effective partnerships and also mobilize the community to better serve kids in foster care.
Be a Good Neighbor: Get matched with a local family that could use extra support by committing to provide a monthly meal for six months. Let the friendship blossom organically from there!
Find other mentoring opportunities in your area by using the National Foster Care and Adoption Directory (not exhaustive) or Googling “foster care near me” and directly contacting local agencies.
If you are in Colorado, find volunteering opportunities near you in our Colorado foster care resource database.
Short-Term Foster Care (Respite Care)
If you aren’t ready to become a foster parent, becoming a respite (short-term foster care) provider is a huge help for foster families and is a big need.
Respite homes give foster families a break since kids in foster care can’t always just stay the night at any home. Respite care can be for a few hours or up to a maximum of a week. You will always be given the opportunity to say yes or no to a respite request — you definitely do not have to be on-call 24/7 and can even say yes to a respite request every few months or take several months off.
You can also sign up to be emergency respite which can give a child a welcoming place to sleep during their first night of foster care. This is important because some kids don’t get to spend their first night of foster care in a home.
You will always have a heads up which can be weeks or hours in advance depending on the situation.
Since the majority of these kids are already in foster care, you will be able to receive a lot of information about the kid(s) before they come to your home (such as favorite foods or activities) and can even arrange to meet the kids beforehand if there is time.
Kids are usually on their best behavior during respite care and it can be a vacation for them since it is a break from their everyday lives. Basically, you can be like a fun aunt or uncle and allow them to just concentrate on having fun!
Doing respite care multiple times for the same kids allows you to build relationships with them and can decrease their stress around going to respite since they already know you and what to expect in your home.
You will need a spare bedroom and we highly suggest having more than 1 bathroom as well. Being a respite provider also requires training so you will know how to provide trauma-informed care.
If you are thinking of becoming a foster family, we highly suggest starting with providing respite care.
Contact your county’s Human Services Department or a local foster care agency to get started. Or if you are in Colorado, check out our Colorado foster care resource database.
Hear how a multi-cultural family navigates foster care challenges.
Foster Parenting
It’s important to think about this decision long and hard and to ensure all family members are on-board before becoming a foster family. Most foster families burnout in less than 2 years and closing your home to a kid in foster care will cause them additional trauma so foster parenting requires a long-term commitment to provide more good than harm. The majority of foster care cases are closed in 2 years or less.
Foster parenting is much different than parenting your own children as foster children have experienced trauma and will not always respond well to traditional “parenting.” It’s also important to note that your culture and expectations will not always match up to that of a child in care so flexibility and willingness to grow and adapt are a must.
Foster parenting is not an alternative to traditional adoption. The vast majority of kids in foster care (more than 90%) are reunited with their biological families and reunification with biological families is always the main goal of foster parenting.
Only in extreme cases where reunification is not an option (less than 10% of the time) will adoption be an option. Most of the kids available for adoption through foster care are over the age of 5.
Consider opening your home to older kids (5+ years) as most people only open their homes to babies and young children and there is a huge need for homes for older kids and teens. Giving teens a family they can come back to after aging out of the system is an invaluable gift and can help combat the dire stats of teens aging out of the system.
If you are apprehensive of having teens in foster care in your home, start with volunteering as a mentor or offering respite care and you could be pleasantly surprised at how grateful, helpful, and fun these youth are!
Contact your county’s Human Services Department or a local foster care agency to get started. You will be required to submit a stack of paperwork as well as complete training and a thorough home study before becoming a foster parent. This process usually takes a minimum of 6 months to complete.
If you are in Colorado, check out our Colorado foster care resource database to find local agencies.
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Hear how former foster youth, Mattie, finally found family in an unexpected place.
Donating
One of the biggest foster care donation needs is for youth aging out of the system. Here is how you can support them:
Dream Makers Project: Help make the dreams of youth aging out of foster care come true so they can start their adulthood on a more solid footing. These dreams range from getting a phone or car to helping pay for college or dental work. View dreams.
A Sense of Home: Help give older foster youth a home of their own that they can be proud of. Giving opportunities include monetary donations; donating furniture and housewares; shopping their Amazon wishlist; and sponsoring a home.
If you are in Colorado, find donating opportunities near you in our Colorado foster care resource database.
Support Foster Families
National Angels provides community support for children and families experiencing foster care. Find a local chapter (scroll to the bottom of the page) or consider starting a chapter if there’s not one already in your area.
If you know of a foster family in your community, offer to email/drop of fast-casual restaurant gift cards that offer pick-up to make dinner night easy (such as Chipotle, Panera Bread, Pizza Hut, etc.). Or offer to run errands. It takes a village and your help won’t go unappreciated!
>> Bonus Podcast Episode: How Becoming a Foster Mom Changed All My Relationships
Have a question about getting involved with foster care? Post your question in the comments section below or email us at hello@justasspecial.com.