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Foster Home Recruitment & Licensing
Purpose
To recruit, train, and license foster homes. These homes work with children who have been removed from their birth families because of abuse and neglect. The foster family, DSS, and the birth family work together to return children to their own home as soon as possible.
Eligibility
Our
agency is continually looking for good, nurturing families to provide
temporary care for children in foster care.
A good foster parent is someone who copes well with changes, works
well with teams, has patience for imperfect behavior and can give without
expecting immediate rewards.
The first step to become a licensed foster parent is to contact our Foster Home Licensing Social Worker Valerie Ackerman at (828) 426-8281 or vackerman@caldwellcountync.org. She will be willing to answer any questions about how to become a foster parent and mail you an information packet and application. You can also download and print off the application and send it in.
An initial home visit will be scheduled at your family’s
convenience to discuss any further questions that you may have and to help
you determine which type of instruction would best suit your family.
Caldwell
County DSS currently offers two options to become licensed.
The first option is the traditional Model
Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) classes which provide
information and the necessary skills to prepare foster parents for a child
who has experienced loss. The class is a requirement to become a
foster/adoptive parent and is being offered free of charge.
There will be four opportunities to become licensed foster parents in 2008. For each series, there will be two Saturday classes. The classes will begin on the following date:
Monday, January 14th from 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Monday, April 14th from 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Monday, July 7th from 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Monday, September 15th from 5:30 - 8:30 PM
The Caldwell County Department of Social Services would like to schedule a class for foster families interested in taking care of large sibling groups of three or more and/or teenagers. If you would be interested in signing up for this class, please contact Valerie Ackerman at (828) 426-8281 immediately.
Each class will be held at the Caldwell County Department of Social Services (Westgate Plaza) in Lenoir.
The
second option is for families to complete the Deciding Together classes. Deciding
Together is a series of six, easy to read books that will give the family
a clear picture of what being a foster or adoptive parent is really like.
They will learn what a child will need from them day by day and who
will be available to help them meet those needs.
The Deciding Together series is designed to be discussed in weekly
meetings with the licensing worker. These
times allow for greater individualized instruction and discussion.
Other
requirements to become licensed include, but are not limited to, the
following:
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Potential foster parents must complete an application form and a Mutual Home Assessment.
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The family's home must receive and pass a fire and safety inspection from the Fire Marshal and meet building code.
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The family's home must receive and pass an environmental safety check that is conducted by the agency. If the family has well water, they must receive and pass a water inspection by Environmental Health.
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All family members must have a physical examination and adults in the family must have a TB skin test.
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All adult family members 18 years and older must be finger-printed in order for criminal records checks to be conducted locally, through the SBI and through the FBI.
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If potential foster parents are a married couple, they must have been married for at least one year. Single applicants can also be licensed as foster parents.
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To be licensed, foster parents must be at least 21 years old.
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Foster families need to have adequate income to financially support their own family without relying on the foster child's board payment, as the board payment is designed to cover the essentials of room and board for the foster child.
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The foster home must have a working telephone which functions without use of electrical power.
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The foster family must have access to transportation and be willing and able to provide necessary transportation to meet the needs of the foster child.
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The foster home must provide each child with his/her own bedroom space.
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The foster home must be a drug-free environment and not be receiving any Child Protective Services from the agency.
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The foster family must be willing to conduct Shared Parenting meetings with the child’s birth parents and/or other relatives.
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As a part of MAPP class and the Deciding Together curriculum, potential foster parents must also take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – 2 (MMPI-2).
The final step is staffing the family's Mutual Home Assessment and
presenting their Welcome Book to the agency.
When approved, their initial licensing packet is then mailed to the
State office for review and licensure.
Special Information
Licenses
remain good for two years. Ongoing
training and support is offered through scheduled in-service trainings,
home visits and child and family team meetings.
For more information and to register for the classes, contact
Valerie Ackerman at (828) 426-8281 or vackerman@caldwellcountync.org
Click here to download the Foster Home application in Adobe PDF format.
If you do not have a compatible version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you may click on the button below and download the program free of charge from Adobe's website:
Related page: Foster
Care.
Related story: Foster Parents Recognized for Outstanding Service
