Frequently Asked Questions - Foster Family Agency

A resource parent is a person who wants to foster, adopt, or provide respite care.

Resource parenting takes a village. Anyone over the age of 18 can apply to be a resource parent.  Working or stay-at-home, married or single, never parented or empty nester, renter or homeowner, we are seeking families of all types!  We welcome LGBTQIA2S+ families and allies as well as First Nations families. Our agency is built around a new model of foster care, “Fostering in Community”, which builds in support, mentoring, training, and a community for each of our resource families.

There are no fees involved in becoming a resource parent and you receive a monthly reimbursement for the children and youth who are placed in your home according to their needs.

CLC accepts placements of children/youth from birth through 21. These placements may include sibling groups, minor and nonminor dependent parents and their infants, or children/youth placed in intensive services foster care. Additional children/youth needing placements are those who have been sexually exploited, have special healthcare needs, and are First Nations children/youth.

Foster care isn’t babysitting, and it’s not about adoption. Each child comes with a family of their own, and all the memories, traditions, relationships, and complexities that surround family.

Foster care is about standing in the gap for another family. This family might become part of your own, redefining family as you once knew it. Or you may never get to know them at all. But their reality, their existence, their importance will always be there, touching your days, influencing your children. You can’t—and shouldn’t—erase them away. And you shouldn’t step into foster care if you’re not ready to engage with the reality of them.

Foster care is about family. It’s about welcoming a child into your family. It’s about—in one way or another—welcoming another family into your family.  If this sounds like something you are open to, then lean into that.  Foster care might just be for you.

You don’t have to be rich to be a resource parent, but you must have enough income to meet your own family’s needs.  When filling out the application, you will be asked to provide proof of income.

Having a child or youth placed in your home requires the same level of parenting commitment you would have for any other child or youth.  As with any other child or youth, they will have medical and dental appointments, school activities, potential to be involved in extra-curricular activities, etc. Additionally, there will likely be appointments for counseling and/or developmental therapies, family visitations, court, and team meetings.  You will also have visits with the social workers on the case and annual training hour requirements.

The length of the approval process really depends on you. Your fingerprint, background and medical clearances must be received and all trainings, required paperwork, and the home study must be completed. If these items are completed in a timely manner, the approval process can be completed in as little as 3-4 months.

Birth families are an essential part of the reunification process.  While every case is different, it is encouraged for resource families and birth families to be able to speak to one another, engage with each other during visitation drop offs/pickups and communicate with one another.  While boundaries are essential, amazing relationships and support systems have been created when biological and resource families interact.

The number one goal for children/youth is for them to be reunified with their families.  Our resource parents are a vital part of the reunification process, which can take anywhere from 3 to 18 months, on average.  If a child or youth is unable to reunify with or be placed with family, they may need permanent homes through adoption, guardianship, or long-term foster care. There are also children/youth who need adoptive homes. No matter how long a child or youth is in your home however, you can always become a permanent part of their lives!

Submission of an application does not commit you to the approval process. On the other hand, application submission does not guarantee you will be approved. Approval or denial is based on the suitability of each family for placements for whom Children’s Legacy Center has responsibility. Should you choose to start the process and choose not to continue, you may withdraw your application.  Should you desire to begin the process again, you can resubmit your application within 12 months of the original application date.

CLC staff will work closely with you in determining which placements best fit your family dynamics. For most families it is usually a rewarding experience. Other resource families have found their birth children have expressed feeling as they are part of something important, enjoy being able to give back to their community.

The length of stay will vary depending on the individual circumstances. It can vary from a few days to years.

You can always request a certain age group and gender; however, the narrower your parameters, the longer you may wait for a placement. At times we can arrange for a meet and greet with a potential child or youth needing placement. This is ideal as it allows you and the child/youth a chance to get to know each other. However, in the majority of placement circumstances the time in which placement is needed is immediate, not allowing for a meet and greet. Therefore, we will give you all the information we can about the child/youth from the placing agency so your family can make an informed decision at the time.

Your preferences on age, gender, number of placements and other concerns will be discussed at length with your CLC social worker during the approval process. Once you are approved, your assigned social worker will work to match you with the right placement. After a child/youth is placed in your home, you feel that they are not compatible with your family, we ask you to thoroughly discuss your situation with your CLC social worker. If we are unable to find ways to improve placement compatibility, a 30-day notice is required for a new placement to be located.

The number of placements you can have depends on bed space and family dynamics. The number is dependent on the parent’s experience, and their ability to meet the need for sibling and transitioning youth placements. You cannot have more than six children/youth, including birth, adopted, and guardianship children, unless approved by Community Care Licensing. A placed child/youth can share a room with your birth children as long as each child/youth has their own bed. There are to be only four children/youth in each bedroom. Children of different sexes shall not share a bedroom unless each child is under eight years of age.