How to Become a Foster parent

Call one of the Foster Care Agency offices in your area to register as a foster parent.

You will complete the Foster Parent Inquiry Form online or contact Mission WV toll free at 866-CALL-MWV (225-5698).

A background check will be conducted.

The worker from your chosen foster care agency will conduct a home assessment to determine if the home meets safety, space and health standards.

You will receive extensive training from the Foster Care Agency. You will also attend a pre-service orientation- This training discusses the responsibilities and details of becoming an adoptive or foster parent.

Notification of approval- After completion of the assessment the family will be notified whether their home has been approved for adoptive or foster children. After approval the information will remain in the West Virginia Adoption Resource Network Family Register for six months.

1. Your foster care social worker will contact you with a potential placement when a child becomes available.

2. Your foster care social worker will provide you with as much information as available regarding the child.

3. You will be able to meet your potential foster child prior to placement.

4. You will have the opportunity to ask your foster care social worker questions.

Families must complete the PRIDE training course and complete a home study. PRIDE training is an excellent opportunity to meet other families who are going through the foster and adoption process. It is also an opportunity to educate yourself about adoption and foster parenting.

The home study is a comprehensive report of your family and home environment. The completed home study includes an application, summary of your family’s history, interviews, criminal background and child abuse clearances. The timeline of the home study can vary from family to family.

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All children in foster care have experienced abuse and/or neglect or dependency. For many children, the termination of their birth parents’ rights may trigger intense feelings of loss and grief. These feelings are natural and often occur at different stages throughout the lifelong journey of foster care and adoption. Grief that is not addressed may display itself in problem behaviors, self-medication, anger, or denial. Children and youth in foster care or who are adopted may need

help labeling their feelings and understanding that they are grieving.

All children in foster care have experienced tremendous loss. Even in the very best of foster care placements, children will experience loss of their familiar home surroundings, at least some disruption of daily routines, loss of personal belongings, pets, and family members—parents, siblings, and kin.

Even when the plan is reunification, and there is a good possibility that they will be returned home, children experience profound loss while they are separated from their caregivers. How a child experiences loss depends on many factors, including: • The child’s developmental level • The significance of the people separated • Whether the separation is temporary or permanent • The degree of familiarity of the new surroundings

Of these factors, a child’s developmental level will most deeply impact his or her understanding of the situation, and therefore influence how he or she behaves while in foster care. The following is a brief summary of how a child’s developmental level will affect his or her response to grief and loss.

An infant placed in foster care is at risk of losing his or her basic sense of trust in adults, and the world at large. This Grief and loss can manifest in withdrawal, excessive and sometimes mournful crying.

Children of this age have not developed logical thinking abilities. When these children experience loss, they may feel sadness, hopelessness, denial, and guilt. The fear of further loss may make the child clingy, anxious, and stubborn.

During this period, children are developing their ability to understand cause, effect, and time. They are beginning to form concrete and logical thoughts. Grief will show itself in school or learning problems, and preoccupation with the loss of caregivers and or related worries.

At this stage, children understand permanence and will grieve like an adult. Complicating the grief process is the adolescent’s primary developmental task: forming his or her own identity. Issues of independence, resistance, and separation are already occurring—profound loss adds a tremendous amount of stress to his or her maturation process. When faced with loss, adolescents can turn to destructive behaviors such as substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, etc.

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Foster Parents can receive services such as: • Additional parenting support • Respite care when needed • Assistance with transportation and visitation supervision as needed. • Structured support groups • Trainings

12 Ashley Rivera’s Story To read about Ashley Rivera’s Story visit https://www.childrenfirstffa.com/2016/10/28/true-successstories-foster-care/

Your foster care agency also provides:

□ Licensed therapists on staff □ 24/7 availability □ A network of 23 offices across 4 states □ Foster parents can receive services for the children such as:

• Birth to Three • Medicaid Insurance • Transportation Reimbursement for Medical

Care • Therapy Services • Assistance for school • Clothing Assistance