What Is a Foster Home?

When a child’s biological parents or guardians are unable to care for them, the foster care system steps in to provide a temporary position in which trained caretakers, including family or relative caregivers, provide for their care. Children will attend school and receive medical and social assistance while living with a foster family.

Over 77 percent of foster children are placed with family or non-relative caretakers, while the rest are placed in care facilities.

Children placed in foster care may be anywhere from newborn to 18 years old or up to 21 years old, depending on the state, with the median admission age being 6 -years- old. While intended to be a temporary situation, the average period a young person spends in care is nearly two years before being reunified or exiting care to permanent legal guardianship such as adoption, or emancipation from the system.

Unless reunification is not an option or not in the child’s best interests, all children should be reunited with their families.

Why Is Foster Care Important?

The fundamental aim of foster care is to offer a secure and stable atmosphere for a child who can’t stay with their parent for different reasons. Children thrive in environments that feel like home. Although their lives have been upended, it’s crucial that children are able to learn daily life skills.

Understanding what will occur each day gives children a sense of stability they may lack. For the most part, biological parents love their children, but are dealing with problems in their own lives that leave them unable to care for them properly.

Foster parents are essential in teaching children about family life. The children learn what healthy parenting looks like, which helps them to not fall into poor family patterns in the future.

Who Needs a Foster Home?

Foster care is a temporary arrangement in which a child is cared for by trained caregivers, including family or relative caregivers, when their biological parents cannot do so.

Children are taken into care for various reasons, including a parent’s sudden illness or another transitory family difficulty. Some children may have witnessed domestic violence, tragedy, or alcoholism. Others might be ignored or abused. The conditions and demands of each child are distinct.

5 Tips to Help Children Transition into a New Foster Home

Fostering children who have endured abuse, neglect, or other family issues is a life-changing decision that provides safety and 24/7 support. Foster parenting requires a great deal of patience and dedication, but not everyone is chosen to be a foster parent. Fostering is only one of many options for helping children in need, but here are five additional ways you can assist a foster child:

●     Familiarize Yourself

○     Familiarity goes a long way towards helping children feel safe in a new environment. Providing them with a sense of security and predictability will go a long way in further exposing a child’s emotions to you and helping you build loving bonds while they’re still in your house.

○     Getting to know a child you’ve only recently met might be difficult. Pick up hints from the knowledge your caseworker gives you. If the child’s file lacks depth before you encounter them, try asking them about their previous bedroom, what they like eating, what games they like to play, or what books they enjoy reading.

●     Communicate

○     When you decide to express your family’s routines and expectations, attempt to do so in age-appropriate ways. Remember that many foster children are behind their peers in understanding your expectations. Manage your expectations so that you and your partner are successful in your new relationship.

○     There are a few items that will assist you in communicating your family’s routines:

1.   Use a social story or a visual timetable.

2.   Keep things basic and consistent.

3.   Break down the schedule into small chunks.

4.   Maintain consistency in your routine enforcement.

5.   Reward them frequently when they get it – especially if they are new.

6.   Find methods to have a good time together.

●     Find a Happy Medium

○     While several seasoned foster parents recommended doing fun family-focused things together in the early days of welcome a new child into the home, others stressed the importance of giving them time and space to adjust.

○     Another recommendation is to put off establishing a routine for a few days and instead allow for a relaxed environment to foster a sense of safety and connectivity. Gradually introduce the family’s usual routine and expectations once the foster child has had time to adjust to their new home.

○     Both methods are valid, so you’ll have to determine which one works best for your family.

●     Make A Schedule

○     Creating a routine for your foster child is a terrific approach to ease their adjustment into your household. This schedule will provide them with a sense of security by letting them know exactly what to expect each day. You can even discuss what they have been used to and incorporate it into your routine. Posting this schedule in their room and other areas of your home can act as a helpful reminder and assist them in remembering what follows next.

●     Educate Yourself Before Placement

○     Gather information and insights from various stakeholders and caretakers in this youth’s life. Social workers and caseworkers are a great place to start, but, when applicable, consider communicating with teachers, neighbors, family members, clergy members, friends, etc. It takes a village to raise a child, so coordinating with the youth’s pre-existing town beforehand may be advantageous.

Ways You Can Help a Child in Foster Care (Without Being a Foster Parent)

●     Mentor a Young Person

○     Abusive behavior, abandonment, and family trauma are common experiences for many foster children. A mentor can teach daily living activities and vocational skills, budgeting skills, goal setting, time management significance, problem-solving and organizational skills so that the children are prepared to face the world when they come out of the foster home.

●     Assist with Respite Care

○     Respite care providers provide foster parents a short-term break, usually for one night or a weekend, instead of accepting a child into their home full-time. It’s a terrific method for you to determine if foster parenting is right for you by doing something comparable to foster parenting for a short length of time.

●     Donate Materials

○     Many foster children have relatively few possessions. Therefore, most foster homes collect clothing, personal hygiene products, toys, classroom supplies, and other stuff kids and teenagers need in their daily lives.

These are some strategies that childcare workers can use to assist the child in making a smooth transition to the foster care program.

Clarvida is a foster care agency that opens foster homes for children in state custody. We firmly believe in their growth and give them a defined path in their upcoming life. We strive to follow the ideals and principles that help foster kids transition themselves into new identities. Contact us for more details.