Soo. . .I know I will not be doing this anytime soon since my life right now is not anywhere near stable. But once things become grounded, I would like to seriously think about it. But it just kind of hit me while I was cleaning my tub.
So are single mom's even able to be a foster parents? I read about a FM years ago int 17 magazine and she wasn't a mom, but she was single women going to school but she would take care of newborns. So I'm not sure if I even can.
What things should I take into consideration that I haven't thought of yet?
I know I would only let my son's age or younger. I know I wouldn't want to handle teens or preteens. . .that's just to risky. And I know I can turn down any child, (sad thing to say) if I knkow I couldn't handle more, or their situation.
Yes, you should be able to become a foster mom regardless of your material status. My mom was a single mom, had me, and then became a foster mother.
It's a long process from what I remember. Lots of paperwork, interviews, background checks, home inspections, CPR/First Aid required, tons of classes, etc.
I wish you the best!
It may vary from state to state, but when was a kid I knew a single mother of SEVERAL foster children. She ended up adopting all of them--the woman is amazing!
I am a respite care provider for the state of Oregon. This is different from being a foster parent....I provide overnight childcare to foster kids so that foster parents can have a break. I usually spend weekends doing so. For the past few years I worked with teenagers only, I had one foster family as a consistent client for 3 years. That family no longer has a need for respite care so now I am switching to children aged infant to about 6 years old. I might be inclined to take a full-time placement if the child were an infant or toddler, as that is my specialty in my field of work, and I am in a place now where I feel I could manage a full-time placement. You might want to get the route of becoming a respite care provider first too, to see how it would work for your family.
I am a single parent. Right now I take placements through the State of Oregon, but I am thinking about switching to a private foster care company because the stipend is twice as much and the support services are a lot better. You will have to see what the systems are like in your state. I imagine the systems are similar to here.
To be a foster parent (in Oregon at least) you will need:
To prove you can meet your monthly living expenses independently of the stipend received for providing care.
To have an extra room available. The room must have a bed, a door, and a window and not be shared with any other children. (although the room can double as something else when there is no placement, like a den or guestroom for example.)
Have renters/home insurance.
Have a reliable car with insurance.
Take ongoing training certification courses.
Pass a criminal background check.
Pass a home safety inspection.
I just did a quick search on Utah's regulations and they are very similar to here. You can be a single person/parent. I encourage you to research all the private companies/non-profits and the state system and to go to all the information meetings you can before making a decision, because you can only be certified with one system at a time.
Working with foster kids is very rewarding and very important. But it is also hard. Even very small children can have sensitive issues that need to be handled with care. Being a foster parent is not for everyone. You have to be able to form attachments quickly and then let them go at the drop of a hat. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. If you have any questions I might be able to answer feel free to PM me.
http://www.utahfostercare.org/
They say you just have to take all the required classes or whatever like everyone else (well only one has to in a married couple which is not very safe in my opinion). You can be single though :)
Good luck sweetie when you do it
