Make a Positive Difference
You can make a difference by stepping up when children need help the most. By becoming a foster parent, you can give children a safe place to stay while their families get the help they need.
Children are placed in foster care for different reasons. Sometimes their families cannot provide them with the basic safety and protection they need. Many have also faced difficult experiences including parental substance abuse, sexual or physical abuse, and abandonment.
Foster parents give children a chance to heal and feel supported during this difficult time in their lives. It is challenging work, but when you see how your guidance and love has made a difference in a young person's life the rewards are immeasurable. The connections you make with a child in foster care and the good role-modeling you offer them and their parents can often last a lifetime and benefit your whole community.
Reasons you might make a good foster parent:
- Patience and a sense of humor are two of your greatest strengths
- You are compassionate, open-minded, and reaching out to others comes naturally to you
- You know the importance of being part of a family
- Your entire family is committed to the challenge of parenting a special child
- You believe that kids in your neighborhood need to stay in your neighborhood
- You want to make a difference in a child's life
- You have room for a child in your heart and your home
These children also need parents who can:
- Accept their sense of loss and need to heal
- Share their sense of humor
- Be self-confident, but not afraid to ask for help or support when needed
- Work with social workers, teachers, therapists and community partners
- Be willing to keep them connected to their family and community
- Support racial and cultural diversity
- Accept and nurture a child not born to them
- Be patient, yet persistent