Foster Care
Family Care Services is a licensed foster care agency in the state of Pennsylvania.
We approve and license foster families residing in PA, working primarily with families in Franklin and some nearby counties. When considering an agency to work with, it is helpful to find one that is local to where you live, as you may need to travel to the agency regularly for trainings, meetings, visits, etc.
Foster Care
- In recent years, an average of just over 25,000 children have resided in PA foster care annually.
- Over 36% of those children are between the ages of 12 and 20, and about 20% of children are age two or under.
- About 10,000 children enter the foster care system annually.
- The average child in foster care is in placement for a little over one year before either returning home or exiting care for another permanency option.
Statistics from: Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children 2020 State of Child Welfare Report.
WHY DO CHILDREN ENTER FOSTER CARE?
Children enter foster care through no fault of their own. Due to abuse or neglect issues, it is sometimes necessary for County Children and Youth Agencies to temporarily remove children from their home and place them with a foster family until the situation in their home becomes safe and stable enough for the child to return home. Sometimes, a temporary placement may turn into a need for adoption or other permanency if the situation that necessitated the placement cannot be resolved.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A FOSTER PARENT?
The answers to this question are both easy and difficult to live out. It takes time and flexibility, participation, commitment, and of course patience and love.
TIME & FLEXIBILITY
Foster parenting requires time for meetings, appointments, visits, and training. You may need to occasionally be available during work hours to attend a court hearing or appointment. We work around foster parents’ schedules as much as possible, but some things are outside of our control. Children and teens in care need quality time and flexibility from their foster parents as they’re adjusting and facing an uncertain future.
PARTICIPATION
Foster parents are part of a team of professionals who work together to reach goals for children. Your input and participation are valued. You have the ability to share information and concerns about how the child is doing, notice changes in behaviors, provide feedback on services, engage in meetings, and attend court hearings. Participation also includes learning about children in your home and how to best meet their needs, which includes asking questions and possibly seeking out more information about behaviors, disorders, learning styles, or services.
COMMITMENT
Welcoming children into your family takes commitment and support from everyone in the home. It means accepting a child or teen as they are and determining that you will do all you can to help them feel safe and loved for as long as they are with you. Being committed to a child includes supporting their permanency goal, whether it be returning home, finding a family member to live with, or finding a permanent resource. Families commit to keeping their home approval current, participating in training, and cooperating with state and agency requirements.
PATIENCE
“Patience is a virtue.” That certainly rings true in the world of foster parenting! One aspect of patience is waiting. There are a lot of things that require waiting: waiting lists for services (like therapy or dental exams), waiting during a child’s family visit, waiting for delayed court hearings or meetings, waiting for paperwork, waiting for a child’s family to reach their goals, and waiting for decisions to be made. Patience with hurting children is vital and also includes not taking things personally. This can be hard! Patience is recognizing that a child disrespecting you may have absolutely nothing to do with you. It is realizing that a child who is dishonest may have needed to lie in order to have their needs met and not know any differently. It is understanding that it takes time for children and teens to adjust to a new family and environment that may be the opposite of anything that is familiar to them.
LOVE
Love sounds like an easy thing to give, and it can be. It’s something that children and teens in foster care desperately need. Caring for children and teens is rewarding, and most children are easy to love. But it also can require more stamina than you ever knew you had. Love can play out very differently depending on the situation. Sometimes love is shouldering complicated emotions that are too much for a child to bear on their own. It is accepting that challenging behaviors can be a reaction to abuse or neglect. Love sometimes means supporting a situation that you wish had a different ending. It is a willingness to celebrate with a child when they finally can return home while at the same time grieving for the loss you experience in saying goodbye. Love is understanding that the impact you can make in a child’s life, even if very temporary, is worth it.
QUALIFICATIONS OF FOSTER PARENTS
Here are a couple basic qualifications. In addition to state regulations, most agencies also have their own requirements that need met prior to becoming a licensed foster parent.
- 21 years of age or older
- Ability to pass child abuse and background checks
- Healthy enough to parent (per physician)
- Financially stable
- Mentally and emotionally stable
- Safe home and bedroom for a child (per home safety evaluation)
- Ability to meet other agency requirements for completing a home study
HOW CAN I GET STARTED?
- Do a little research – If you are not familiar with foster parenting, there is a lot of very helpful information out there! Read some articles, check out some foster parenting blogs or Facebook groups, and talk with people you know who are foster parents.
- Attend an information session – Family Care Services offers an info session about every two months. It is a great way to learn specifically about how our agency’s foster care program is designed. You’ll learn about the children we work with, how they are placed, ongoing expectations, and the application and approval process. You can have your questions answered and hear the answers to others’ questions that you might not have thought of yet. If you’re unable to make one of our scheduled sessions, we can schedule an individual meeting with you. Contact us to be invited to the next info session.
- Request an application – If you’ve already attended an info session or already have past experience in foster care and/or otherwise feel ready to begin the process, contact us for an application! Your application will be reviewed and determination will be made about continuing in the home study and training process.
To talk with someone about foster care or to be notified of an upcoming information session, contact Andrea Adams at aadams@familycareservices.org or call 717-263-2285 x209.
FAQ
Why are children placed in foster care?
Children are placed in foster care when removal from the home is clearly necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the child. Children are placed due to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, lack of housing, serious neglect, or severe family situations. Sometimes children are placed into foster care at the request of their parents.
How old are the children placed in foster care?
Children can be in foster care between ages 0 and 21. The average age for a child in care is around 8. There is a tremendous need for families willing to care for older children, teenagers, and sibling groups. Since most families want young children, those families often have a longer wait before having children placed with them.
Will I receive information about children before deciding to accept them into my home?
Yes, though the amount of information you receive may vary. You will be informed of all the information about the child that is provided to FCS by the county agency. Sometimes it is a lot and sometimes it is very little. Most of the time it’s somewhere in between. It is not looked down on to decline a referral. Just as you do, we want families and children to be a good fit for each other so that the placement is successful.
Do foster children continue to see their parents?
Generally, yes. In most cases, the goal is to reunify the child with their family, which includes visits. Visits can look different for each child. They can be supervised or unsupervised, several times a week or once every other week, for an hour or two at a time or overnight. If parental rights for a child have already been terminated and the child’s goal is no longer reunification, there may be no visits. Some children have regular contact with their families by phone or video chat. Children who have siblings placed elsewhere may have sibling visits.
How many children can be in one home?
Up to six children under age 18 can reside in one home, including children in foster care and any other children in the home. It is possible to get a waiver to care for more children, particularly in cases of sibling groups.
When I am a resource parent, will I be able to go on vacation?
Yes. Family vacations and other types of breaks are important ways that resource parents can take care of themselves and continue to be successful resource parents. Respite families are available to care for a child if/when you want to have some time off. We also encourage families to take their foster children on vacation with them, giving them new experiences and quality time with your family.
What do I do if I have concerns or problems?
FCS has staff on call 24/7 to assist families with questions, concerns, and emergencies that arise.
How long does it take to be approved as a foster family?
It depends on how quickly a family wants to complete the process. In general, the approval process takes about three to four months, but can be completed as quickly as one to two months. Some things that can take some time include filling out paperwork, waiting for clearances or references to be returned, scheduling your physical exam, completing training, or obtaining any documents that you may not already have on file in your home.