What is foster care?
Foster care is a temporary foster home for children who have been abused, neglected, abandoned or have special needs. Foster parents provide a temporary loving, safe, and secure home-like setting for children while their parents are working towards reunification. Currently, our GREATEST need is quality foster parents who will care for teens and/or sibling groups.
Children can be removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment and neglect. These children are placed in foster care as a temporary placement when relatives or non-relatives familiar with the children cannot be identified.
Children of all ages, races and genders, from newborns to teenagers are in foster care, and some display challenging behaviors. We have a special need for foster parents to care for teenagers and sibling groups. Children who have experienced trauma need someone to care for and support them so they can heal. Birth parents of children who are in foster care have also experienced trauma in many cases, and foster parents often are a support to these parents as well.
We pride ourselves on how quickly we license our foster homes. We simultaneously license a foster home while participants are in training. Our goal is to license you within thirty days of completing training. We have a 75% success rate with this goal.
Complete a Phone Interview & Register
Complete a basic phone interview by calling us at (863) 519-8900 x 289 and register for our next Foster Care Info Night.
Foster Care Info Session & Sign-Up for Class
After you have attended a Foster Care Info Night, you can registered for one of our upcoming Foster Care classes and a home visit will be scheduled with you.
*As our community is social distancing, we have provided a virtual Foster Care Info Session presented by Susan Ripley, our Director of Foster Care Licensing. After watching, feel free to contact our Foster Care Licensing team at 863-519-8900 x 289 with any questions or if you'd like to sign up for one of our upcoming virtual Foster Care classes.
Training
Participate in either a 3 week accelerated, or 6 week traditional "Passport to Parenting" Training (one class per week -18 hrs in class and 3 hours online). This includes turning in the required licensing documentation during class and having a home assessment and background screening completed by your licensing counselor.
*As our community is social distancing, we are offering our Foster Care classes virtually. New classes are beginning every month, to sign-up contact our Foster Care Licensing team at 863-519-8900 x 289.
Watch ReMoved Part I & II: Short Films
ReMoved follows the emotional story through the eyes of a young girl taken from her home and placed into foster care. We hope you'll take some time to watch this powerful short film and it's sequel, Remember My Story.
ReMoved
Remember My Story - ReMoved Part II