So You Want to Foster

 

The following is the local process to become a foster parent in Nanaimo and Ladysmith.

 

Call the office at 250-741-5444 and speak with a resource social worker who will ask you some basic information such as your name, birth date, and address. The worker would fill out a form and you will be invited to come to the office and meet with the social worker to discuss further your interest in fostering.

 

During your office visit the social worker will explain more about the foster care program to you. The worker will also ask you some more questions about your interest in fostering and about you (and your family). The social worker completes an 'Initial Foster Parent Interview' form with you.

 

During the course of the interview you will be told about the approval process. The first part of this process is to attend the PRE-SERVICE ORIENTATION. This is an 18 hour program that is intended to provide you with more information about the foster care program. The overall goals of this orientation series are:

  • To assist prospective foster parents to make an informed choice about fostering;
  • To facilitate an exploration of participant's values, beliefs, strengths and vulnerabilities in relation to the demands of being a foster parent and a foster family;
  • To prepare foster parents for their first placement if they decide to proceed;
  • To ensure participants are familiar with the core information and expectations pertaining to the ministry's Foster Family Care Home Program.

 

Following your completion of the Pre-Service Orientation you will be invited to meet with your resource social worker and continue to discuss your interest in fostering. The next step would be to be given an application package. The application package consists of:

 

  • Application to Provide Restricted/Regular Family Care (Included in this form you are asked to provide us with the names of three (3) personal references, with one to be a family member.)
  • Discipline and Safety Policies Form
  • Criminal Record Check - Local RCMP (one per adult)
  • Criminal Record Information Form (one per adult)
  • Authorization for Criminal Records Search Under the Criminal Records Review Act (one per adult)
  • Consent for Release of Confidential Information (one per adult to request a medical reference letter from your doctor)

 

The paperwork has been returned - now what?

 

Now we complete the family home assessment. This consists of a number of personal interviews between you and your family (the applicants) and your resource social worker. There would usually be four to six interviews. During these interviews we would come to learn more about you, including:

  • your own personal history
  • your reasons for wanting to foster
  • your ideas and attitudes toward parenting
  • your values and beliefs; and,
  • your skills in working with and parenting children

We will look to match the skills and abilities you have to offer children, with the needs of the children that come into foster care. As part of foster care is working with other professionals, we will also talk with you about your ability to work with others, both in the ministry, and in other agencies and services, i.e., school, medical, counseling.

 

Your home would then be recommended for approval as a foster home, and you will sign a Family Care Home Agreement. You are now ready for your first placement!