How to Become a Foster Parent

There are actually a few different ways that a person can become a foster parent. We choose to work with our local county agency. It all started with a phone call. Next we had to fill out an applciation packet. It was pretty heavty! There were actually several forms involved and info required ranged from how we felt about our own childhood experiences to our financial status. Next we had to get CPR/1st aid certified, get a psychological evaluation, attend an on-site training, do 15 hours of at home training using books and videos (I found some on-line resources too), and last but not least we had to get physicals and send in an "okay" from our doctors. Finally, we are at the point where we are ready for our homestudy. The homestudy will involve around 4, 2-2 1/2 hour interviews in our home and an inspection of our home for safety and space. The social worker will then write up a "report" and after that we will recieve our certification! It's only been a couple of months, but things have been clicking right along and it may just be a matter of about 4 weeks before we receive our certification! After that will will be waiting by the phone for a call about our first placement. Its hard to believe!