Children who cannot remain with their own families are provided with stable family living situations. Potential foster care families are recruited and assessed and children are prepared for placement. Financial assistance, orientation, training, and other support services are provided to foster care families by DSS and contract agencies. For referral, contact a local DSS area office. Aimed at children already in DSS custody, the Guardianship Program attempts to give older children and adolescents a greater sense of stability by appointing their foster parents, relatives, or family friends as legal guardians.
Placement is made in licensed facilities ranging from group homes to residential treatment centers.
Specialized foster care services are placement services provided to children and disabled adults in a family setting by foster parents specifically trained to care for special needs people who would otherwise require residential placement. They are provided directly by DSS or through contracts with other licensed placement agencies. In one program, shelter is provided, without regard to income, to children and adolescents who are runaways or who are abused, neglected, or abandoned. Applications may be obtained either through DSS offices or directly from providers under contract to DSS . These services are primarily intended for those not yet ready to enter the Vocational Rehabilitation Division programs.