​Services provided to children and their families may include counseling and treatment, day care, medical, education, employment, family planning, independent living, housing, respite care, legal, socialization and recreation services. Independent living services are services provided to older foster children to prepare them for transition into adulthood.

To achieve permanency for children in foster care the welfare of the child is of paramount interest and children have the right to a safe, stable, and permanent home. Children have a right to be reared by their families when their parents and relatives are able to do so in an adequate manner. Recognizing that some families are unable or unwilling to resume their parenting responsibilities, services should be provided to ensure a safe, stable, and permanent home. This should be done by placement of the child with relatives accompanied by transfer of legal custody, adoption, or by placement in a permanent foster home. When selecting a foster or adoptive family for a child, cultural, ethnic, and racial background may be considered as one of a number of factors in determining the best interest of the child.

Federal and State law require that reasonable efforts are made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the home and to make it possible for the child to be returned home. Reasonable efforts are efforts to provide services to children and their families utilizing community resources with the goal of preserving family unity. They include efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of a child from their home and to reunite the child with their family. At the time of the initial court hearing to commit a child to the custody of the agency, a judicial determination must be made as to whether reasonable efforts have been made.

After an agency receives custody of a child they must document reasonable efforts to reunify the child and family or achieve a permanent placement for the child. During the temporary placement in foster care, a range of services is offered to children and parents designed to improve conditions and return the child home, or identify other permanency options for the child such as relative placement or adoption.

Exceptions to the requirement to make reasonable effort to reunite children with a parent are when:

• The parental rights of a sibling of the child in foster care have been previously involuntarily terminated.
• The parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter, or a felony attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit such an offense against a child of the parent, a child with whom the parent resided, or the other parent of the child.
• The parent has been convicted of felony assault or bodily wounding resulting in serious bodily injury or felony sexual assault of a child of the parent or a child living with the parent. Serious bodily injury means bodily injury resulting in substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted or obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of a bodily member, organ or faculty.

• Attempted to use community based services and less restrictive alternatives
• Complied with local procedures for residential placement established by the Community Policy and Management Team (CPMT) and Family Assessment & Planning Team (FAPT).
• Completed documentation of these processes in the case record.

• Diagnosis and treatment of child
• Accessibility of placement to parents or prior custodians
• The child's and family's readiness for placement and treatment
• Opportunity for parental/family involvement and participation in the treatment plan
• Services to return children to the community
• Duration of treatment
• Cost and funding resources
• Transition plan to return the child to the parent/community

• Training: 
• Intensive pre-service training is required of all interested foster parents.  Once a family is approved as a foster parent then there are monthly in-service trainings that are offered.  Foster parents must complete 10 hours of in-service training per year. 
• Board Rate: 
• A set rate that is based on the age of the foster child which reimburses the foster parents for estimated costs of care. It is paid at the end of the month.
• Insurance: 
• When a child in placed in the agency’s custody, they are eligible for medical and dental coverage through Medicaid or their biological family’s insurance.
• Day Care: 
• If foster parents work, then day care can be arranged. It will be paid for by the agency as long as it is a licensed day care provider, and proof of working parent is established. 
• Clothing:  
• Upon entering foster care and throughout the year, a clothing voucher is available to help meet the clothing needs of a child. The amount per year is based on the child’s age.  A voucher for diapers is also available when a baby first enters foster care.
• Dual Certification:  
• When the home study is complete and approved, then the family is dually certified as foster/adoptive parents, which means they would have a home study already completed if the circumstances allowed them to adopt the foster child placed in their home.
• Support Group: 
• Foster parents have quarterly support groups in order to put foster parents in touch with each other and gain support.
• Mental Health Services: 
• If a child needs individual or family therapy it can be arranged by the child’s family services specialists.  The same is true if a child requires medication management in order to help them.​​

• Be at least 21 years of age
• If married, be married for at least one year
• Have enough living space for an additional child(ren)
• For all adult household members 18 and older: no felony or misdemeanor convictions which jeopardize the safety or proper care of a child, and no founded child abuse/neglect cases
• For household members between the ages of 14-17, no founded child abuse/neglect cases
• Be physically and mentally able to provide appropriate child care
• Have a current driver’s license and a safe driving record
• Have a sincere desire to offer your home in order to be a temporary parent to children whom, for a short period of time, don’t have a safe home or family to care for them.

• Attend a foster parent information session to learn more about the certification process and to receive your information packet
• Complete Pre-Service Training: offered in the evenings from 6:30 -9:30 p.m.
• Submit application for dual certification, the application will be handed out​ during pre-service training
• Turn in as soon as possible to start the home study
• Start the home study process.
• The first visit will be in the VBDHS office
• The next 2-3 are in your home
• One will include a safety inspection of your home
• Complete fingerprinting for all adult members 18 and over in the household
• Complete Child Protective Services checks for all family members over 14 years old
• Compete a TB test and provide documentation of the test results and a physician’s statement
• Complete DMV checks
• Provide at least 3 references
• Foster Care Committee meets to review the home study and make approval decisions
• Certification Process is completed!​
  

• Young adults with lifelong disabilities who were former foster care children
• Adults who have mental health needs
• Adults with mental retardation or developmental disabilities
• Older adults

• Supervising the adults you serve
• Providing meals
• Providing recreational activities
• Maintaining a comfortable home environment

• Take a tuberculosis test
• Provide a financial statement
• Participate in a criminal background check
• Participate in a Child Protective Services/Adult Protective Services background check
• Have a home inspection (homes must meet city codes)
• Have a fire inspection
• Provide personal references
• Attend training sessions
  

If you're interested in providing special care to special adults, call (757) 385-3473 for more information.