Well, it's May so it's time for a new guest post! May is National Foster Care Month and in light of that I'm bringing you a guest post from a blogger that is very familiar with the subject. She has five biological children and four children that were adopted through the foster care system.
She has very graciously shared this post with us.
So, without further comment, here is her post entitled:
What is Foster Care?
Foster care – the act of caring for a
child that’s not your own, like you would your own, and then letting go of them at moment’s notice no matter how long they have been in your home and heart.
Foster parents – the parents, yet not
the parents at all, with all the responsibility for someone else’s child with
no rights to the child.
Foster home – A house that has
children coming and going and lots of activity inside and out. A home that has to be open and available for
outsiders to come in and “check out” at any time.
Social Worker – an overworked
employee of the state that takes children from their birth families and places
them in foster homes. They work to make sure the birth parents follow a plan to get their children back even if the birth
parents don’t appear to be interested.
When you look at foster care like
this it doesn’t sound like something anyone would ever sign up for.
Foster Care – the act of unselfish
love poured out on a well deserving child for as long as you have the privilege
of having them in your home and heart.
Foster Parents – normal people who
have a heart and unconditional love for children, who are willing to open their
heart and home to help a child.
Foster children – hurt, broken, needy
children who are scared and in need of love, patience, and understanding who
deserve nothing less than any other child.
Foster home – a home where
unconditional love, consistent discipline, fun, learning, understanding and
patience ooze forth upon the children living behind its doors.
Social Work – a support system,
answering service, and source of information for birth familities and foster
families during the ups and downs of the foster care process.
Foster care can be looked at both of
these ways. Actually, in the end, no
matter how you look at it, and whether it ends with the children returning to their home, going to a relative or by adoption, the joy, heartache, rewards, pain,
smiles, confusion, laughter, frustration, firsts, fear, emotional turmoil, and
fun, can not be matched.
Foster care is not for everyone. But, it is for more people than have signed
up. If it's for you branch out and make
that call.
The children need you. Our society needs you. Our future generations needs you.
There are approximately 423,773
children in foster care in the United States.
Here are links on how to become a foster parent:
If
your State does not have a foster care information line, the local child
welfare agency should be able to provide you with information about how to
become a foster parent. Child Welfare
Information Gateway has a related organizations listing that provides a link to
each State child welfare agency at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp_website.cfm?rs_ID=16&rate_chno=AZ-0004E. In most
States, private agencies also provide foster care service. To find out about these agencies, contact your
State Licensing Specialist; a list is available at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp.cfm?rs_id=15&rate_chno=AZ-0008E.
If the
previous resources do not provide you with the information you need, you can
also contact your State’s Foster Care
Program Manager/Specialist. Addresses
and phone numbers for State’s Foster Care Program Manager/Specialist are
available at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pus/reslist/rl_dsp.cfm?rs_id=13&rate_chno=AZ-0006E.
Also,
you may want want to visit the website of the National Foster Parent
Association (NFPA). While the Children’s
Bureau and ACF do not endorse this organization or the content of its website,
this resource is provided for information sharing purposes.
The NFPA website at http://www.nfpaonline.org/content/?page=FOSTERPARENTINFORMATION&nmenu=3 provides not only information on how to become
a foster parent, but it also provides a Federal tax guide for foster parents and information on State training.
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Jane Can Parent