The Step-By-Step Process of Foster Parenting 

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Making the decision to become a foster parent is a big choice and one that can make a difference in children’s lives. Children that have suffered neglect, abuse, the death of a parent or for another reason cannot remain with their parent or parents. These children need a safe and stable home life with adults they can depend on to see to their needs and provide the life a child should expect. This decision is one that requires the proper training before a foster child can be placed in the home. 

Understanding Foster Care 

Foster care is a situation that will require training to have the right tools to understand how to deal with a child coming from a situation that keeps them from remaining in their own home. This can cause a child to shutdown or act out and the foster parent needs to know how to handle this if it happens. The foster parent is responsible for providing daily basics, food, clothing, and other needs of the child including discipline. The child will need guidance and medical care the foster parent must ensure is provided so the child has a healthy and stable life. 

Foster Parent Qualifications 

After deciding to become a foster parent, certain requirements apply besides the training. The adult that wants to be a foster parent must meet the qualifications before any training takes place. This along with the completion of the training is required to have a child placed in the home. The requirements include: 

• The applicant must be at least 21 years of age. 
• Have the financial capacity to support your family. 
• Be mentally and emotionally stable. 
• Complete the state required training required that is a minimum of 36 hours. 
• Complete a home study process. This consists of a criminal and medical background checks. Then each member of the household is interviewed. 
• The home must undergo a safety and fire inspection. 
• The applicant will need to be prepared and have skills to handle different types of behavior and emotions of foster children. 

Foster Care Training 

The training for foster parents falls into different categories in a foster care training process independence oh. The first category is the traditional foster parent, which in total is 40 hours of training for a two-year certification period. The foster parent must get re-certified after two years to continue fostering children. 

The next level is an intermediate level that requires 48 hours of training for a two-year certification and recertification after the two years. The highest level for the foster parent is an Imprint level and this requires 60 hours of training for a two-year certification. The foster parent must re-certify to continue fostering when the licensing time elapses. The higher levels of training hours is for foster parents that want to take in certain types of children such as children with medical issues or disabilities. Since these children require specific type of care and possible emotional or behavioral issues, the foster parent will need to be prepared to handle.