Yes! You can foster if you are single, married, or co-habitating with a partner. However, all caregivers do have to take the training course.

Yes! Foster parents can work full or part time, or be stay at home parents, or even retired. The only requirement is that you have an income source that covers your monthly expenses.

Yes! It does not matter if you rent or own, or if you live in a house or an apartment. However, every child has to have their own bed and cannot share a room with an adult once they reach their 1st birthday. Children can share rooms if there is adequate space and if they are the same sex.

All prospective foster parents are fingerprinted prior to being enrolled in a class. The Background Screening Department at the Department of Children and Families reviews all arrests, regardless of the outcome, and determines if someone is eligible. The majority of misdemeanors are not disqualifying offenses; the majority of felonies are.

There is no cost for any of the trainings or for the background screening. The only cost involved is making sure your home meets the Code requirements, such as having appropriate beds and car seats, having a tagged fire extinguisher, an escape ladder for a 2-story home, a lock-box for medications, etc.

Every child must have their own bed and must be in a separate bedroom from the foster parent or any other legal adult over the age of 18. In general, foster children may share a room with another child of the same gender.

Yes, foster parents receive a stipend (board payment) for the child to help cover the expenses of providing foster care. The amount of the monthly payment varies by the age of the child, and foster homes providing specialized care for medical or therapeutic needs receive a larger stipend because the needs of the child are greater. Importantly, children in foster care receive Medicaid healthcare coverage, and foster parents are eligible to receive mileage reimbursements for driving children to medical appointments or foster care activities.

The goal of Community Partnership for Children is always to reunify children with their biological parents whenever safely possible. However, in some cases reunification is not possible, and children become available for adoption after their parental rights are terminated by the court.

Children may be taken on vacation provided that the travel is approved in advance.

Yes, and the standards for babysitters are discussed in foster parent training.