Steps To Becoming A Foster / Adoptive Parent

Dealing with the Department of Family and Children Services certainly is not any fun.   You have to jump through a lot of hoops and there is always red tape but in the end you are helping a child and bringing laughter and love into your home!   The first step in our process of adopting or becoming a foster parent was to go to an informational session.  There you’re given basic information.  If you decide to move forward there is a class you need to take to prepare you to parent children who come out of broken homes and bad and sometimes abusive situations.  It’s very informative.   After that comes the part that I believe scares most people… the home study. 

A home study just confirms that you are able to care for a child. 

Financial: You don’t have to be a wealthy or even well off.  You just have to have a steady income and employment history, be able to provide for yourself and have a bit of money to spare each month. 

Physical House:  You can expect a home safety evaluations checking for bed space, appropriate living quarters, and that the home is clean, childproof, and safe.  We also had to have the health department OK our home.  They make sure the water temperature isn’t too high, that you have fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors. 

Personal: Before you get too far into the process most likely you will have to complete a criminal background check as well as a drug test.  Then you will have to schedule a medical exam and get a physician’s letter that states you can physically care for the children.  Most likely you will be given a set of forms for your doctor to fill out.  

There are interview’s that include questions about your childhood, parents, parenting views, other children you might have, outside support systems, and your general background.   If you have children in the home it is important to note that they may be interviewed as well.  Your other children are asked how they feel about the idea of a new member or members of the family. 

 **** Note all adults living in the home must be obtain a background check and drug test.

After these steps were finished we started welcoming children into our home right away.   We were looking for children that could be adopted but children still rotated in and out.  More about this in another blog. 

These are the steps it took for us to become foster / adoptive parents.  It might be a little different in your state. These are some of the basics and will give you a general idea of what you can expect.

This process might seem very long but it’s so worth it in the end.  These are my boys!  The little guy came into our home right out of the hospital and my older son was 18 months old when he was placed with us.  We have adopted both boys  and they are now ages 3 and 5J

****Photo by Dan Metts Photography  www.danmetts.com 

Please ask any questions you might have in the comments.  I’d love to answer them!