Children who have had a troubled childhood are offered to live with parents(Foster Parents) other than their birth parents. There are private as well as government agencies that affiliate foster services to foster parents. Fostering is different from adoption in the sense that the foster parents do not have the same rights legally as those of the birth parents.
Love and Care
Foster parents choose to turn around the lives of troubled children by giving them the love and care they have been longing for. To support their efforts, regular funds are released to foster parents to cover up the costs of the fostered.
Essence of Fostering
In order to facilitate children who due to any circumstances cannot stay with their birth parents, government agencies legally provide guardians until they turn eighteen. The essence of fostering is to help the children through their adolescence with their day to day care.
As Foster Parents…
The foster parents are not legally entitled to any rights that violate the birth parents’ right. Any decision in life is made by either the agency or the birth parents. The foster parents are only entitled to day to day care for the child. Most of the time a child is fostered with a relative, known as kinship program.
Anyone who has time, a caring heart and patience can become a foster parent, irrespective of the religion, or sex. Many are considering fostering as their full-time job. As a foster parent, one can make a significant difference in children’s life by simply caring and looking after them through their day to day tasks, such as having a nice breakfast, a warm meal and a lot more.
Types of Fostering
While fostering one can choose from short term fostering to long term, where short term fostering is for a couple of weeks or months and long term fostering goes all the way from a few years to until turned eighteen.
Foster Agencies
The choice of agency one foster for also makes a difference. Lisa Witter from Perpetual Fostering explains that using a private fostering agency will get you better pay for your fostering efforts. Moreover, private agencies provide a lot of perks such as the choice of fostering programs is widely ranged and better indexed.
How Can You Start?
The process to start as a foster parent is pretty simple. Apply for fostering license after verification of previous convictions. Submit details with the foster agency as desired followed by a demonstration. Training would be conducted at first by agency’s representative and there’ll be time to time counseling with a counselor.
Fostering could be a promising solution to the issues related to the minors be it their life issues, health issues, mental or physical or be it any social problem they may be facing. This could really help turn the wheels in the right direction for the children with fostering needs. Choosing to foster as a profession does not enable the only fosterer financially but also gives a light of hope to the fostered.