Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why are children placed in foster care?
A: Children and youth sometimes enter foster care because they have been abused, neglected, abandoned or endangered by the people who were supposed to care for them. While the majority of children come into care due to neglect, all children in foster care have experienced loss and trauma of some kind.
Q: What is the role of a foster parent?
A: As a foster parent, you are responsible for:
- Providing temporary care for children, giving them a safe, stable, and nurturing environment.
- Understanding and assisting with the needs and goals of family visits.
- Helping the child cope with home separation.
- Providing guidance, discipline, good examples, and positive experiences.
- Encouraging and supervising school attendance, participating in teacher conferences, and keeping the child’s caseworker informed about any special educational needs.
- Working with OVP FAMILY to arrange for the child’s regular and/or special medical and dental care.
- Informing the caseworker promptly about any problems or concerns, so needs can be met through available services.
- Cooperating with the caseworker and the child’s parents in carrying out a family reunification or permanency plan.
Q: What is a permanency plan?
A: A permanency plan is a written plan that determines where a child will live permanently after being removed from their biological family. The plan can include options such as reunification with the family of origin, adoption, guardianship, relative care, or long-term foster care. The goal of permanency planning is to ensure that children grow up in a safe, loving, and permanent family environment. Foster parents are often the main source of information about how a child is adjusting to home separation, interacting with peers, and performing in school. As such, they can work with the caseworker or agency to help plan for permanency.
Q: Is it expensive to foster a child?
A: Foster parents receive a stipend, or subsidy, to help with expenses such as food, clothing, and educational needs. Additionally, the foster child’s medical expenses are generally covered by Medicaid. Reimbursement rates vary from state to state and can also be affected by the specific needs of the child in question. Since these are reimbursements intended to pay for a foster child’s needs, they are not considered income and are not taxable. Though the reimbursements can ease the financial strain of caring for a foster child, they should never be considered as a primary incentive to become a foster parent.
Q: What rights do foster parents have?
A: Foster parents have the right to:
- Accept or reject a child for placement in their foster home.
- Define and limit the number of children that can be placed in their home, within legal capacity.
- Receive available information on each child who is to be placed in their foster home.
- Expect regular visits from the child’s caseworker to exchange information, plan, and discuss any concerns about the child.
- Participate in regular conferences in their foster home to discuss the child’s permanency plan.
- Receive training on meeting the needs of children in foster care.
- Have their personal privacy respected.
Q: What rights to foster children and youth have?
A: Foster children and youth have the right:
- To be safe and healthy.
- To be treated kindly and fairly.
- To be informed and involved.
- To receive a public education.
- To receive timely and appropriate health and medical care.
Q: Are efforts made to keep siblings together?
A: Yes, when at all possible. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to find foster homes for groups of three or more siblings and children over the age of six. Many families entering into foster care prefer children of younger ages, and while this is understandable, the truth is that all ages of children and youth need a family and a safe, secure home. There is a huge need for families willing to take older kids and sibling groups, so brothers and sisters can avoid the trauma and heartbreak of being separated from each other.
Q: Can foster parents adopt their foster child?
A: Not every child in foster care is eligible for adoption, especially when reunification with the biological family is a viable option. However, when a child is legally freed for adoption, his or her foster parents are usually given the first opportunity to adopt before caseworkers begin considering other families. One of the major advantages of adoption by foster parents is increased stability for the child. If a child has been living with their foster family for months or years before they become eligible for adoption, they have likely formed attachments to their foster parents, siblings, home, school and community. Being adopted by their foster family allows them to maintain relationships that are important to them and prevents them from having to move and start over with a new family. Foster-to-adoption is an outstanding and very achievable way in which to add to your family and create positive permanency for the whole family.
Q: What are the benefits of fostering-to-adopt?
A: There are many rewards and benefits of fostering to adopt. Perhaps the greatest benefit is the fulfillment of knowing you’re helping a child find their forever family. Additionally, fostering to adopt is frequently easier and much less expensive than the average private domestic or international adoption, which can end up costing upwards of $50,000. Because the costs of adopting from foster care are often subsidized or reimbursed by the state, it costs very little or nothing at all to adopt from foster care.
Q: Is there an upper age limit for foster parents?
A: Regulations vary from state to state. In West Virginia, foster parents cannot be younger than age 21 or older than age 65, unless a waiver is granted. Prospective foster parents above a state’s upper age limit who meet all other requirements and have a strong desire to foster a child are encouraged to seek a waiver, as it is possible to receive one, and OVP FAMILY will provide any needed assistance during the process.
Q: Can same-sex couples foster a child?
A: Yes. Same-sex couples can foster children in the United States. It’s been legal in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. since 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against bans on same-sex marriage.
Q: Can a single person foster a child?
A: Yes. Many single people have become excellent foster parents.
Q: How long can a child stay in foster care?
A: While foster care is a temporary arrangement for children, the amount of time a child spends in foster care depends on the particular child and his or her parents. The law requires, in most circumstances, that every effort be made to reunite children with their parents as soon as it appears safe for the child. If the child cannot be safely reunited within a certain period of time (typically 12 to 15 months), the law requires that another permanent home be identified for the child.
Q: Do foster children see their biological parents during the time they are in foster care?
A: Most children in foster care visit their biological parents on a regular basis at a designated location in the community upon entering care. This is part of a court-ordered plan to reunite the family. Foster parents do not have to meet with the child’s parents, but it is in the best interests of the child if the foster parents are willing to work with the biological parents. However, there are hundreds of children in the custody of each state who are already up for adoption and whose biological parents have no parental or visitation rights.
Q: What kind of training is required to become a foster parent?
A: OVP FAMILY requires foster parent applicants to attend a 8-course training program (in-person/virtual) before being licensed to receive a child. The program is designed to educate potential foster parents on the necessary skills and knowledge to properly care for children in their home, covering topics like child development, managing challenging behaviors, understanding trauma, communication with birth families, navigating the foster care system, and providing a safe and supportive environment for a foster child.
Q: How frequently are children in foster care reunited with their parents?
A: Close to half of children in foster care in the United States are reunited with a parent or primary caregiver. This means that nearly half of them become adoption-eligible.
Q: Do foster children need to have their own room?
A: No. However, each child must have his or her own bed, and a child cannot share a bedroom or a bed with an adult or a child of the opposite sex.
Q: Is it true that foster parents cannot spank a foster child?
A: Yes. Foster parents are prohibited by law from using any form of physical or corporal punishment. Positive, warm, and caring discipline should be used with any child who has experienced trauma.
Q: How long does it take to be licensed as a foster parent?
A: The process to become licensed usually takes around 90 days after you complete an application, training, background screen and home study.
Q: Once I become licensed, how long will it be before children are placed in my home?
A: It depends on the type of care you want to provide. It is likely you will begin receiving calls very soon after your license is issued.
Q: Are foster parents able to choose the types of children placed with them?
A: Foster parents can specify their preferred age and gender, as well as any behavioral problems they don’t feel equipped to handle. Foster parents should only accept children they believe they can manage.
Q: What is a home study?
A: A foster care home study is a thorough evaluation process conducted by a social worker to assess whether a prospective foster parent’s home environment is safe and suitable to care for a foster child. It can include a home visit, background check, interviews, and review of financial information to make sure prospective parents meet the necessary criteria to become foster parents.
Q: What types of regular appointments do foster children have?
A: Many children in foster care require counseling services, necessitating regular appointments with therapists and other behavioral health professionals. Of course, foster children need regular medical checkups and primary care services, just like any other children. Finally, foster children often have regular visits with biological family members and are engaged in community activities and sports, like most children.
Q: Can the foster child attend religious activities with me?
A: Yes. Foster children may join your family in attending religious activities. However, your family must respect and support the child’s religious beliefs if they are different from your own.
Q: Can foster parents take a foster child on vacation with them?
A: Yes, but you must notify the case manager and sometimes the court for out-of-state travel. It cannot interfere with the child’s visitation as ordered by the court.
Q: What if the parent(s) work outside the home?
A: Many wonderful foster parents work outside the home, and this is usually not a problem. Adding a child to your home/family may be a change, but we all want your normal family dynamic to remain.