Connecting Children and Teenagers with Caring Families
November is National Adoption Month, and this year's focus is on bringing foster children and teens into conversation so they can advocate for their personal identities and culture. Each child has a story and by listening to their perspectives, we can empower our youth to find their voice on their way to permanency.
In a letter launching this year's National Adoption Month, Aysha E. Schomburg, communicates the critical importance of this topic and how we can better include our foster youth.
While the process of how to become a foster parent can vary from state, to county, to individual agency, they all share some of the same components. All prospective foster parents must find a local foster care agency, complete an application process, and complete initial trainings before they are approved.
The purpose of these steps is to verify that you and your home are safe and prepared for foster children. Agencies, like Victor FFA, want to be sure the living environment where we place children is good for their healing and development while they work toward the reunification of their families. Becoming a foster parent currently comes with more convenience and flexibility than ever before because of technological advances and innovations during COVID-19.
You’re at the point in your foster care journey where it is time to start looking into local foster care agencies. You know you want to become a foster parent; you just aren’t sure where to go!
Do you go with a private or non-profit agency? What should you expect from a ‘good’ agency? How will you know one is the right fit? There are a lot of variables to consider before you commit, and we’ve outlined 10 tips to choose the local foster care agency that’s right for you.
It’s no secret that many foster children experience trauma and hardship. There are so many children in need of a stable and loving home, it could be easy to think, “Well how can I do anything to combat all that?” The truth is, by providing a safe home and loving home, you can change a child’s world, and even an entire family’s life.
Meet Mich Hamlin. Mich went from homelessness, to foster care, to graduating from University of Southern California with his doctorate in physical therapy. He hopes his story will be an inspiration to other foster children. We hope it can be an encouragement to foster parents as well.
Up until middle school, Mich, along with his parents and two brothers, were homeless. They slept wherever they could, including parks and behind dumpster bins, though his family did have a car. His parents suffered from alcoholism and when his mother showed up drunk to pick him up from school, he and his siblings were placed into foster care.
There is humor in the conception that moms just want a day off on Mother’s Day, but on Father’s Day dads want to be out and doing something as a family. This actually fits well with the roles that father figures play in child development, even in foster care.
One of our Victor FFA Hemet foster families, the Sanchez family, was named Resource Family of the Year by the Riverside Department of Public Social Services during National Foster Care Month. What makes the Sanchezes especially unique this month, is that Derrick is a stay-at-home father, and they are fostering 4 boys while raising their own teenage son.
Foster Care Awareness Month is probably our favorite month of the year. Everyone is talking about how they can support foster children!
April is both Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Awareness month. We want to join the voices in bringing awareness to these issues as they are close to our hearts.
There is a chance that in your journey as a foster parent, you may be placed with a child who has been sexually assaulted or abused.
According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault.
When you think of social workers, what comes to mind? Is it the image of someone helping the community? Or someone pouring over files at a desk at your county office? Maybe you think of your friend who is a social worker or maybe you think about the social worker who has helped you.
Parenting teenagers is a hallmark of our society. It is the cause of lots of crazy stories, frustrations and some really funny moments. Hormones are changing, identities are being formed and you’re just trying to do the right thing for your kid’s growth and development. Being a foster parent for a teenager is the same as raising any other teenager in many ways.
Fostering parenting teenagers can seem a very daunting task, but it is possible to do a good job and it can be very rewarding. Some foster parents even find they have a special knack for raising teens! To help you out, we’ve outlined some tips that in addition to support from your social worker, can lead you in how to best parent a teen in foster care.
Foster parenting is parenting. Like any parent, you experience ups and downs when raising your children. You have financial, emotional, and time commitments just like you do for a child who is born into your household.
The good days far outweigh the bad, but foster parenting comes with some unique ups and downs that you should know about so you can be prepared to handle or celebrate them accordingly.
