Foster parents give children the benefit of ordinary family life until it’s time for them to return home, move to a new permanent family or move on to independent living.

Foster parents provide daily care and support for their foster child.  They partner with the child’s social worker, teachers, and doctors and participate in Family Group Conferencing.  Being a foster parent is not a passive act of opening one’s home and providing food, clothing and shelter.  Foster care is a proactive commitment of nurturing, advocacy, and love.

Setting consistent guidelines and expectations and adding structure and routine are the foundations to healthy development of all children. Foster parents need to have the time to participate in a child’s day to day living – playing and having fun, attending to their health care, sharing and creating good memories, encouraging them to try something new and participating in community programs.

In consultation with a social worker, foster families decide on the age (from birth to 16 years), gender and level of difficulty of the children they care for in their home.  When considering fostering, foster parents need to stay focused on how they can help a child – wanting a playmate for their own children or feeling lonely are not good reasons to foster.

The length of time a child remains with a foster family can vary from a few days to weeks or even years depending on the circumstances.