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Thinking About Fostering or Adopting?

Have you been thinking about fostering or adopting, but aren’t sure what’s involved? It’s a life transforming decision not only for the youth, but also you and your family. It won’t be easy; but most foster and adoptive care providers say it’s one of the best things they have ever done. Here’s what you need to know:

1. We know that children and youth do best at home with their family. In cases where children must come into care for their safety, our goal is to work towards reunification whenever possible.

2. It is important for children to maintain connections with their birth family. As such, you will be supporting these connections and contact.

3. When children need a stable, safe and loving home, we reach out to the community for foster and adoptive families. We need homes for children of all ages, from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and cultures.

4. You have a say in what child(ren) will be placed in your home. Our priority is to make good matches so that we are placing children with families that can meet their needs.

5. Foster and adoptive parents can be single, married, or living common law. They can be with or without children already in their families, working in or outside the home, heterosexual or LBTGQ. We are looking for individuals, couples or families who can protect and nurture children within a stable and secure family environment.

6. We must assess and prepare prospective families carefully. The homestudy assessment, training, and approval process usually takes up to eight months, depending on each circumstance.

7. Training is required as fostering and adopting is not the same as parenting a child born to you. The child brings with them relationships, history, genetics, a medical background, and experiences that need to be understood and respected. Caregivers must be able to support the child with their feelings about being in foster care or being adopted. The PRIDE training program will assist you in preparing to parent a child under these circumstances.

8. You are welcome to register for the training even if you are not sure if you want to foster or adopt. The training will provide you with what you need to make your decision.
We are here for you every step of the way!

Every day, often in quiet way, foster and adoptive families make a real difference in our community. We thank you for considering making a difference in the life of a child.

Yvonne is a foster parent for the Children’s Aid Society of London & Middlesex and birth mother of two children.

 

Questions? Comments? Contact us today!

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