If children's families cannot be made safe for them to return permanently, kinship or adoptive families must be found. Whether stays in foster care are for a few weeks or for years, trained foster families working as a team with the caseworkers will help the children cope with their situations. Valued Families who can provide a caring and safe home are needed for children who cannot live with their own families until problems are solved. Foster parents may be asked to care for children for a few days, months or even years. Foster parents sometimes even adopt the children in their care.
Foster parents provide more than a bed and food on the table.
They offer concerned care, guidance, discipline and commitment. Prospective foster families receive comprehensive training and ongoing support from caseworkers, and other foster parents, which makes sharing a home with children a very rewarding experience. Foster parents are as unique as the children in their care. They come from all walks of life and locations. They may be married or single.