{"id":811,"date":"2018-05-05T18:01:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-05T18:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/?page_id=811"},"modified":"2025-01-20T20:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T20:22:11","slug":"foster-care-adoption","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/foster-care-adoption\/","title":{"rendered":"Foster Care"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-839 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/foster-care-wordcloud1-300x245.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"331\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/foster-care-wordcloud1-300x245.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/foster-care-wordcloud1-330x270.jpg 330w, https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/foster-care-wordcloud1.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">WHAT IS FOSTER CARE?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"body\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Foster Care is a temporary arrangement in which adults provide for the care of a child or children whose birth parent is unable to care for them.\u00a0 It is where children go when their parents cannot, for a variety of reasons, care for them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"body\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Foster care can be informal or arranged through the courts or a social service agency. The goal for a child in the foster care system is usually reunification with the birth family, if possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">HOW THE FOSTER SYSTEM WORKS IN MARYLAND.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"http:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/\">Maryland Department of Human Services<\/a>\u00a0(DHS) is the state agency that oversees the foster care program across the state. Each county and Baltimore City\u00a0has its own\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"http:\/\/dhr.maryland.gov\/local-offices\/\">local Department of Social Services<\/a>\u00a0(\u201c<strong>DSS<\/strong>\u201d). Each county and Baltimore City runs these departments but report to the DHS.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Foster care caseworkers from the county DSS work with families and foster parents (also called \u201c<strong>resource parents<\/strong>\u201d) to develop and implement a case plan for children in foster care. A &#8220;<strong>case plan<\/strong>&#8221; is a detailed written description of a child&#8217;s needs, the services that will be provided, and the laws that apply.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WHAT DOES A RESOURCE PARENT DO?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Resource parents are responsible for providing children with a safe, nurturing environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">This includes providing:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Parental supervision and support;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Food, shelter, and clothing;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Health and dental care;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Opportunities to participate in social, sporting, and cultural events; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Emotional support to help the child cope with not being with his\/her family.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BECOMING A RESOURCE PARENT?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">To be a resource parent, you must be at least 21 years old and apply for \u201cresource home approval\u201d at your local DSS. A resource parent may be single or married.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Here are some of the requirements:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>For resource parents:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Have certain characteristics such as knowledge of, interest in and regard for the principles of good child care;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Be willing to work well with DSS personnel, such as the child\u2019s caseworker;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Be mature and create an emotionally stable and supportive climate for the child;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Help maintain family ties through regular family contact, as required by the child\u2019s case plan;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Value and respect the child\u2019s racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural heritage;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Be willing to support and encourage a child\u2019s educational progress, including participating in school conferences and similar activities; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Owe no outstanding child support, unless the applicant pays the arrears owed or makes a payment plan with Child Support Enforcement that is\u00a0acceptable to DSS.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>For resource families:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The resource family must pay for and receive physical examinations for all people living in the home and be re-examined every two years;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">All resource family members 18 years of age and older must pass State and federal criminal background investigations;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">No adult in the resource home may have a felony conviction for\u00a0<u>child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against a child, rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking<\/u>; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">No adult in the resource home may have, within 5 years before the date of the application for approval, been convicted of a physical assault, battery or a drug-related offense.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>For resource homes:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Secure certain health and sanitation approvals, including that for lead paint hazards; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Meet fire safety, window covering, and general safety requirements.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WILL I BE ABLE TO HAVE VISITS WITH MY CHILDREN IF THEY ARE IN FOSTER CARE?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Yes.\u00a0 Visitation with parents is an important part of the foster parent role, unless the court has determined it is the child&#8217;s best interest to have no contact.\u00a0 Remaining in contact with your child or children will be an important part of family reunification.\u00a0 Contact could be letters, calls, conference calls for school conferences, as well as visitation<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHAT IS FOSTER CARE? Foster Care is a temporary arrangement in which adults provide for the care of a child or children whose birth parent is unable to care for them.\u00a0 It is where children go when their parents cannot, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/foster-care-adoption\/\" class=\"read-more\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1314,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811\/revisions\/1314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}