Foster Parent Opportunities
Nurture, support, encourage, and love a special child…
Intervention Services is looking for people who are willing and committed to fostering children. We focus on working with children who may have special, therapeutic needs.
Foster parents, traditional and therapeutic, have a very special and important role in the life of a child who comes to live with them. They teach a child what healthy relationships are all about. They help a child learn, with guidance and support, that loving and caring relationships do not come with emotional and physical abuse. Sharing your heart with a foster child can be an invaluable experience!
Intervention Services’ therapeutic foster parents are qualified individuals who receive ongoing support as part of our foster care program, including state recognized training, in-home Behavior Analysts, in-home Counselors, compensation, assistance in the licensing process, and a network of licensed foster parents for support.
Qualifications
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Qualifications are required of each prospective foster parent to ensure that quality care is provided. These qualifications are:
- Foster parents must successfully complete state required training with Intervention Services, Inc.
- Foster parents must be at least twenty-one years old
- Foster parents can be single, married, widowed or divorced. It is required however, that at least one year has passed for those who have had a recent change in their family environment.
- No more than four children may already live in the home
- Foster parents must supervise children at all times
- Three personal and one employment reference must be completed
- Credit checks are not required, however, income must support outgoing bills and existing household expenses and support foster parents and their children
- Foster parents must assist foster children in their reunification efforts with their families
- Foster parents must encourage and support the religion, spirituality and culture of the foster child
Licensing Requirements For All Parents
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Intervention Services, Inc. and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) require that certain conditions be met to become a licensed foster home. Some requirements and conditions are (additional detailed information provided at orientation):
- Intervention Services, Inc. and DCF requires law enforcement background checks from the county, state, and federal agencies on all applicants for foster care, as well as any other people in home ages 12 and older for local checks and 18 and over for state and federal checks
- All applicants, as well as all people residing in the home, must pass a child abuse/neglect background check
- Intervention Services, Inc. will not consider any applicant who has a record of a felony crime or child abuse
- At least one parent must have a high school diploma or equivalent (therapeutic only)
- A foster parent may care for a maximum of two therapeutic foster children at one time (there may be no more than five children in the home, total)
- Foster homes must include a bed for each individual child (this does not allow for cots, sofa beds or rollaways)
- Children may not share a room with an adult (age 18 or older)
- Boys and girls age three and older may not share a bedroom
- Foster parents must reside in the community at least 6 months prior to licensing
- Landlords must approve your use of their property for foster care
- An operating telephone must be available in the home
- A minimum of two home visits and successful completion of a Home Study
- Completion of Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) training course provided by Intervention Services, Inc.
- A separate sanitation inspection by the Health Department
Foster Parent Training
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- All foster parents are trained with a state recognized training curriculum.
- HART Therapeutic foster parents are provided with additional specialized training
- Training is provided to meet all state requirements as a licensed foster parent
- All foster parent state training provided free of charge
- Lessons in behavior management and behavior analysis
- Continued training as part of re licensing
Foster Parent Support System
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The HART team also provides a support system for the foster parent’s, both in the home and amongst each other. Our support system includes:
- 24-hour a day, 7-day a week on-call crisis intervention and support services
- Respite days
- A network of licensed foster parents
- Social gatherings and meetings
- For Therapeutic parents or for any child who needs extra assistance
- An individualized behavior management plan for the child that is designed and managed by the behavior analyst, with input from the foster parents
- Regularly scheduled in-home therapeutic visits for the child and foster family
- In-school Behavior Analyst support as needed
Compensation for Parents
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To cover the costs of caring for a foster child, foster parents are provided with:
- A monthly payment from the Community Based Care Organization for each child placed in the home, which varies depending on the age of the child (free of tax)
- Additional payment may be provided to therapeutic foster parents, parents that provide additional care for children with mental health needs.
- Recreational outings and activities for foster parents to network
- Clothing allowance
- Medical services are provided to the foster child through the biological parent and Medicaid and they may visit any doctor that accepts Medicaid as a form of payment
- Psychiatric services and medication management are provided through Intervention Services, Inc.
The requirements, conditions and qualifications as outlined above are further discussed and described in detail during orientation and include but are not limited to the above listed items. The application file of the prospective foster family is reviewed and decided upon by Intervention Services, Inc. and forwarded to the Department of Children and Families for licensure. Upon receipt of license, homes are ready for child placement.
Contact Information
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We encourage you to attend our next informative orientation session where we will do our best to answer any questions you might have. The topics discussed and information provided will help you as you decide about becoming a therapeutic or traditional foster parent. If you would like more information or if you have any questions about becoming a Foster Parent, please contact:
Open your heart and your home to a special child!
