How to become a Foster Parent?

Ready to become a foster parent?

Let’s look at the options:

As a potential foster parent, it is important to remember, No youth of any age is coming to you as a foster family without your written consent; it is the law. So if you need special training or a support group for your child, your treatment foster care team and your case manager will work with you and the local Department of Social Services (DSS) to ensure success.

No foster care agency will force you to take a child you know you can not look after. Every child has a unique living situation and history, and your family needs to be the right fit to make you both successful.

It will not help the child if your family does not make a good match. The Foster care system always needs great parents, but we also need the right parent to give the foster child stability and the love they need. Suppose you want to be an adoptive parent and wish to work with an adoption agency. In that case, this matching process is even more essential as we try to make a forever home, so we know the child's welfare and yours are critical to the family's success.

We understand that children and foster parents have different needs. Regardless of your path, know that you can change a child’s life through a short-term or permanent loving home.

Below are the five types of Foster and adoptive parents; these levels of care are to support the children and families to be successful. All our models are evidence-based for long-term success.

• Regular foster care: Certified by a Licensed Child Placing Agency (LCPA) or local Social Services Departments to provide a temporary, safe, and loving environment for a child in need.
• Treatment foster care: Certified by a Licenced Child Placing Agency (LCPA) to provide case management and crisis support to children who have experienced trauma or are medically fragile.
• Respite care/short-term foster care: During respite or short-term foster care, a foster parent can provide short-term relief for another foster family for up to 29 days. This provides an opportunity for the initial biological parent or foster parent to recharge and rest.
• Long-term foster care: Long-term foster care consists of a family providing a safe and nurturing environment until a permanency goal has been established and achieved. A permanency goal can be a placement with a relative, adoption, or reunification with the parents. This can be for any amount of time longer than 30 days.
• Foster to adopt: Some parents enter the foster care process to adopt a child. During this time, the termination of parental rights (TPR) needs to be established. This will allow the adoption process to continue after a minimum of six months in your care; the courts can finalize the adoption.

How to become a foster parent

“There are no unwanted children, just unfound families.”

A foster or adoptive parent application is the same. It is the first step to becoming a member of the foster care family in Virginia; you can fill out all the forms here to start the process. After we have given you access to the web portal, you can complete the process on your own time.

We have made the process simple to quickly become the family that a child needs. You will have your foster parent advocate. We are here to help you determine if fostering is for you by guiding you through this rewarding process. 

We have your case manager to help you with all the paperwork and facilitate any special training you may need to care for children in your care.

This team will help you throw the licensing process on a one-on-one basis, including your Home Study process; as a private agency, we will always work to educate you about ways to prevent child abuse and neglect. Give you the skills to be a great treatment foster parent and support your foster child. Being a foster parent is work, but with the proper support, you will be very successful with your foster children.

You can provide a nurturing, loving, and stable home for a child in need and truly make a difference in a child’s life. Follow the steps below, and you’ll be well on changing a child’s life.

How to change a youth's life in foster care:

• 1. Make that call!
  When you call us at 866-782-9474, a foster parent advocate will be ready to answer your questions and send a welcome packet to you – or request a phone call here.
• 2. Orientation
  You and your family are invited to attend an orientation to receive more information about foster care and the adoption process. Training is currently completed on Zoom.
• 3. Training
  The five foster care training sessions are designed to give you the tools you need to become a foster or adoptive parent. These sessions include regulatory standards, grief and loss, child abuse, physical abuse, and behavioral interventions, to name a few.
• 4. Application
  The case management team will help you through the paperwork needed to become a foster or adoptive parent in Virginia. This includes, but is not limited to, personal references, physical exams, DMV records, TB screenings, and a financial assessment. Virginia DSS requires a lot of paperwork, but it is only a process, and we are here to help you complete it efficiently.
• 5. Home Study

  There will be at least three 2-hour home visits to prepare your home environment while learning more about you and your family.

  The Department of Social Services states that all foster care and adoption agencies work under instruction to ensure the home is a safe and positive place to have a foster parent raise a child in their care.

• 6. Finalized Assessment

  After you successfully complete the foster parent application, your training, home study, and background checks, we will assess your family’s readiness to foster or adopt a child and if there are any further areas for training or support needed.

  The process from first training to this stage should take 90 - 120 days.

• 7. It's Official!

  You did it! You are now a Licensed Foster Parent 

• Get in Touch!

  We know that it looks like a lot of work, but you are taking on a child's life who has been through a very tough journey. We want you to be informed, trained, and EXCITED.

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