We are so excited you’re thinking of becoming a resource parent, also known as a foster parent, for a child in need! It’s one of the most rewarding things you can do with your time, home, and love. But we also understand it’s a process to become one and you have questions about how long it takes to become a foster parent.
All sexualities and gender identities are welcome to become foster and adoptive parents at Victor FFA. Love is love and that’s what children need above all else when they find themselves in a foster care.
We believe that care is found in homes with those who sincerely want to support a child and we don’t think that is limited to certain gender identities or sexualities.
Celebrating National Foster Care Month and Mental Health Awareness Month
Raising a family is no small feat, and even parents who love their children can find themselves in a position where they cannot adequately care for them. Through services like Foster Care and other community support programs, we can work on healing and prevention.
Becoming a foster parent is a beautiful, personal, and serious decision. You are opening up both your home and life to a child who is experiencing a difficult time when they need a safe place to stay and people who can care for them. Because the work is with vulnerable populations of youth, there are important requirements for becoming a foster parent in California. Knowing them may help you decide if foster parenting is right for you and what your next steps are.
Child Abuse Prevention Month
When you understand that the most common type of child abuse is neglect, you can begin to understand why programs like foster care emphasize reunification, education, and prevention.
Victor Resource Families and Adoption is committed to providing support and programs to educate, intervene, and prevent child abuse by supporting resource families, children and biological parents in hope of reunification. We also offer support to those children who may have experienced trauma because of child abuse.
One of the more nuanced parts of becoming a foster parent is developing a positive and respectful relationship with your foster child’s biological family. Though this is an area that can cause a lot of questions and uncertainty, it is very important.
Being in good relationship with your foster child’s biological family means better emotional health for everyone. Plus, it clearly places reunification as the central goal of foster care. As Victor FFA is a reunification first foster agency, we really believe in the value of these relationships.
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.
Mich’s Childhood
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.
