Fostering children can be an especially rewarding experience, though it is hard work.
Child Protective Services will place children who are living in inappropriate or unsafe homes into foster care when there are no willing or able relatives or family friends to care for the child. Foster care families provide temporary placement for the child until a more permanent situation can be found.
Becoming a Foster Parent
Potential foster parents must be trained and certified annually by Child Protective Services. In addition, a case worker will evaluate the family or foster parent in question in order to make sure the home is a safe place for a child to live. All potential foster parents should be at least 21, financially secure and should be free of criminal charges.
Behavior
It is important to set up rules before receiving foster children. If a foster child displays bad behavior, do not ignore it; instead, immediately refer to and follow through with the set house rules. Talk to the child about the problem in full and explain the consequences for the bad behavior. Remember to always praise the child for good behavior. Positive reinforcement is a valuable tool in teaching children.
Safety Guidelines
One of the major issues in foster homes is whether or not the home in question is safe for a child. Lock all medicine cabinets to protect curious children and have a well-supplied first aid kid handy. Learn CPR and lock up any potential hazards such as paints or aerosols.
Teenagers
Often, teenage foster children have already been in several foster homes or unsafe living situations. It is especially important to build a foundation of trust with teenage foster kids. Show them affection often and maintain and open line of communication. Be especially firm with rules as teenagers in generally will test boundaries.
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