CHILD IN CARE

Our children in care range in age from the youngest of infants to adolescents, and even young adulthood for youth who are attending school. They come from many backgrounds, religions, ethnicities and lifestyles. They may require foster homes for a few days, weeks, or longer.

The reasons for a child requiring foster care also vary, from parental illness to neglect and abuse or other significant issues in parenting. While many children in care have a minimum of special needs, the issues that led to the child’s admission may have had an impact on the child’s developmental well being, such as:

• Difficulties associated with loss of attachment relationships
• Problems in relationship to their families of origin
• Social and/or emotional issues
• Learning gaps, delays or challenges
• Medical or physical problems

The role of the foster family is to nurture and care for these children in an environment that will promote their adjustment and healing, and contribute to the development of resiliency needed to face future life issues. As critical members of the child’s care team, foster families work together with other team members to provide nurturing, opportunities to learn and grow, and experience healthy family living that will prepare them for the future.

Most children in foster care eventually leave care to return home. A very important part of fostering, therefore, is to assist children in working through family relationship issues, to deal with the loss that admission to care brought about, and to help to build bridges to the child’s own family so that return home will be successful and permanent. Those children who cannot return home are also being prepared for permanency, such as adoption or long term foster care, where a child can grow up securely.

While fostering offers its challenges, they are far outweighed by the rewards and riches of helping a child to grow and thrive. During our mutual exploration and selection process, applicant foster parents will have many opportunities to learn more about fostering and speak to other experienced foster parents in order to make a well-informed decision about whether fostering is a good fit for their family.