Interviews are part of the Caregiver Assessment.  Incoming foster parents are often very nervous about these sessions.  A professional is going to come to your home, ask invasive questions, and decide if you have what it takes to be a foster parent.  It is very understandable to feel nervous!  Let’s take a moment to better understand the purpose and the process of the interviews.  You might feel a bit better at the end!

Who

You’ve met the Eligibility Requirements and submitted your application.

You scheduled and completed your Housing Standards Assessment.

Now it is time for the Caregiver Assessment.  What does that mean?  Let’s learn together!

Caregiver Assessment

The Caregiver Assessment was once called the License Study.  It is a comprehensive assessment of your suitability to provide foster care.  There are many steps involved and it takes a while.  Below, explore the steps involved in the Caregiver Assessment

The Housing Standards Assessment is typically the first time you will meet the Homefinding Team. 

This visit is a planned visit that occurs at your home once your application has been accepted. 

For specifics on the eligibility requirements to apply to foster, check out our blog before this.  Once you are caught up, continue on with this blog!

The Housing Standards Assessment is a time for the Homefinding Team to meet you, sit down and

Who is eligible to become a foster parent? 

This is a question we are often asked.  Let’s dive into some of the specifics!

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts licenses or authorizes contracted agencies to license foster and adoptive parents in our state.  There are specific criteria that must be met in order to qualify to apply.  Once you qualify to apply, the assessment begins. 

Let’s start with the application qualifications in this post, and we will

“It is kind of a lot. I’m not looking to get that involved.”

This was the voice on the other end of the line on Monday.  She was the thirty-seventh call I made, the third to pick up (others received voicemails, texts, or emails).  I sighed. It is true, I thought, fostering is “a lot” but being involved is where the magic happens.

We need people who want to be that involved. 

We need parents

Many folks want to foster, but they are not sure they have what it takes.  They question, am I enough?  Will I be able to do this?  Do I have what a child needs?

Let’s explore what kids in care need.  If you think it sounds like you, that might be a sign it is time to apply!

1. A Steady Presence: Children and youth in care have been through a lot.  While

He left from school.  He had his backpack and his homework.  He didn't get to hug his mom.

She left from home.  There wasn’t time to pack much, they had to get going.  She wasn’t sure what to grab, so she just stuffed things into the garbage bag blindly.  Turned out to be clothing from last season.  She will have to wear a sweater and long pants tomorrow, even though it will be 84 degrees

May is National Foster Care Month.

What does that mean?  Why does it exist?

It isn’t a celebration of foster care.  Foster care occurs when families do not have the supports they need to safely keep children in their homes, so that’s not something for which we should break out the party hats.

What is National Foster Care Month all about?

National Foster Care Month is a time to bring the conversation of foster care

Structure.

It is a term that is used often in foster care, right from the first MAPP class and all along.  There’s good reason, too.  Humans thrive on structure- a predictable routine and environment of known factors.  For children and youth who have experienced countless changes and trauma, structure helps reset the brain and allow it to regulate emotions, learning, and expectations.

That’s all fine and well, but if you’re new to the world of

Stoic.

That is an appropriate description of him.  Mr. Stoic.

When the big sad thing happened, his face remained still and guarded.  He blinked hard a few times, but in the moment, he kept every muscle under the tightest control.

At the park when other kids were whooping on swings and careening down the slide, limbs flailing, he followed their paths, but there was a firm concentration on his brow.  He pumped his legs in