Foster Care

What Is Foster Care?

A foster family acts as the temporary substitute family, where the child’s family is not available or where it is unable to assume responsibility for the child.

Why Children are Placed in Care

Children come into care for a number of reasons such as:

  • A parent is unable to provide a safe home for the child
  • A parent is unable to provide the type of care the child needs
  • A parent dies without naming a guardian
  • A parent decides adoption is the best option for his or her child

Foster Care Principles

  • A child has the right to be a valued member of a family and live in a safe, nurturing and stable environment
  • Parents have the primary responsibility for the well being of their children
  • A family unit and parent model is the most beneficial, capable and desirable environment for child rearing
  • It is the responsibility of the community to assist, promote and maintain the healthy functioning of families
  • Society has a role to play in ensuring the health, safety and well being of children
  • Society assumes certain responsibilities for the rearing and nurturing of children when their own parents are unable to do so
  • A child's ethno-cultural heritage (race, religion and culture) and identity shall be preserved and protected.

Types of Foster Care

Regular Home

These foster families are generally recruited, and approved as general caregivers from the community.

Kinship Home

These foster families are approved to care for specific children in who are related to the foster parent(s).

Restricted Home

These foster families are approved only for the placement of a specific child(ren).

Length of Placement Stays

Emergency Placement

A regular foster home that is available on a 24 hour emergency basis and in crisis situations.

Short-term Placement

Available for planned placement for periods of less than one year.

Long-Term Placement

Available to care for children until they reach adulthood.

Respite Placement

Provide occasional days or weekends to support birth families or foster families whenever they need a break from caring for a child with special needs.

What Are Some Attributes of Foster Families?

  • A genuine interest in children and an understanding of their needs
  • Physical and emotional strength
  • Effective communication skills with adults and children
  • A sensitivity toward and understanding of the feelings of a child and her family upon separation
  • Personal warmth, sense of humor and a great deal of patience
  • The ability to adjust to new and often demanding situations
  • The ability to understand and implement a variety of child management and discipline strategies
  • The desire to work and plan in a team environment
  • The ability to recognize and accept the importance of the biological family unit and return with the family whenever possible
  • The ability to recognize the temporary nature of child placements in their home

Foster Care Objectives

  • To work towards the child’s ultimate return to their own family whenever possible
  • To provide the type of child care, placement and services best suited to meet the child’s needs, and to support their healthy development
  • To minimize the risks to the child’s emotional health due to separation from their own family and the condition leading to placement
  • To ensure that placements promote stability and continuity of the child’s relationships
  • To protect the child from harmful experiences
  • To place a child within their extended family or in a family of their own ethnocultural background and lifestyle preferably in their community
  • To support the child’s ethnocultural heritage
  • To provide children-in-care of the Director of Family and Children's Services with:
    • A sense of being wanted and cared for
    • Affection and understanding
    • Physical care
    • Cognitive and emotional nurturing
    • Guidance and supervision, and
    • Positive role modeling

Support/Training

  • A worker is assigned to support each foster family
  • Training and educational opportunities are available for all foster parents (refer to PRIDE)
  • Mutual support and networking between foster parents is facilitated through the Yukon Foster Parents Association
  • Additional training is offered to foster parents on a regular basis

PRIDE

Parent Resources for Information Development and Education (P.R.I.D.E) was introduction as the model of practice for developing and supporting foster families. PRIDE is a model that is being utilized throughout Canada as a systematic approach to ensuring foster parents have the supports, knowledge and resources needed to best meet the needs of the children and families. There are two training components within the model: Pre-Service and CORE both of which are co-facilitated by a Foster Parent and staff person. Pre-Service is a 27-hour training for prospective applicants. Topics covered include:

Orientation to PRIDE

  • Teamwork towards Permanence: Importance of families and child’s identity, continuity of relationships
  • Meeting Developmental Needs-Attachment: Basics about child development, impact of life experiences and ways to build positive attachments
  • Meeting Developmental Needs–Loss: Types of losses, the process of grieving and loses as a universal experience
  • Strengthening Family Relationships: How families promote identity, importance of cultural identity
  • Continuing Family Relationships: Connecting children to safe, nurturing lifelong relationships
  • Planning for Change: How fostering impacts the foster or adoptive family

There are 10 modules in the CORE training package, ranging from 3 hours in length to 15 hours. They are listed as follows:

  • Module 1: The Foundation of Meeting the Developmental Needs of Children at Risk
  • Module 2: Using Discipline to Protect, Nurture and Meet Developmental Needs
  • Module 3: Addressing Developmental Issues Related to Sexuality
  • Module 4: Responding to the Signs and Symptoms of Sexual Abuse
  • Module 5: Supporting Relationships Between Children and their Families
  • Module 6: Working as a Member of a Professional Team
  • Module 7: Promoting Children’s Personal and Cultural Identity
  • Module 8: Promoting Permanency Outcomes
  • Module 9: Managing the Fostering Experience
  • Module 10: Understanding the Effect of Chemical Dependency on Families
  • Module 10a: Understanding the Parents' Process of Change

Reimbursement

Foster parents are provided with a non-taxable daily rate, issued monthly for the number of days a child was in their home that specific month. Foster parents also receive bi-annual funding for the clothing, including an additional amount in preparation for children/ youth returning to school. Medical and Dental expenses, including prescriptions are paid by Family and Children's Services.

Special Needs Children/Youth

If a child is in-care for more than 30 days the Foster care worker, Child-in-care worker and foster parents will develop a special rate agreement which will cover additional expenses due to the specific needs of the child/ youth.

Insurance Rider Program

Rider insurance is a program that works in conjunction with Foster Families existing tenant or homeowner insurance providing extended property damage and comprehensive general liability. For more information follow this link: www.bcfosterparents.ca/insurance.shtml

Fostering Links

  • Canadian Foster Parents
  • Foster Parent Community (US)
  • La Leche League International
  • Motherisk
  • Mothering
  • National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (US)
  • Parent Help Phone
  • Safe Kids Canada
  • Second Chance for Kids
  • Today's Parent