Online Continuing Education for Foster Parents Washington State

What To Expect As A Foster Parent After Placement?

Every foster parent goes through a learning period after placement. You're learning more and more about your child's behavior, your agency's requirements, and your support systems.

Foster parents should anticipate having a lot of questions and asking for help to navigate your new role. Don't forget, as you head into the first week, lean on others for support when you need it.

The First Week

In your first week as a foster parent, you'll experience a flood of emotions and challenges. As you and your foster child learn more about each other, plan for the unexpected. It's hard to know what may trigger a child who has been abused or neglected.

Something as simple as offering new school clothes might be overwhelming for a child that's never experienced it. One of the best ways to avoid potential issues is to communicate early with birth parents, something you can do within the first week at a Family Team Decision Meeting.

Family Team Decision Meeting (FTDM) — Within 72 Hours

• Attended by birth parents, caseworkers, and sometimes extended family
• Used to work out education, housing, health insurance, and other care component details including what children like to eat, bedtime routines, or other daily habits that foster parents should know to provide better care

One of the first meetings after placement is one that foster parents are not required to attend. But, the gathering is an invaluable opportunity to form early connections with birth parents.

Medical Appointment — Within 5 Days

• Attended by foster parents to learn more about a child's medical issues and report those issues to caseworkers who can coordinate any necessary medications

Beyond the first week, the life of a foster parent is not unlike a typical parent. You'll help to establish a routine, take them to school, fix meals, and play with them, all the while working to build trust. But there is one key difference between a foster parent and a typical parent. Foster parents commit to supporting reunification at all times.

Reunification: Building A Brighter Future

In Washington State, reunification is the goal of foster care. Reunification happens when a child returns to live with the family they were removed from.

For new foster parents, reunification may be hard to understand. It's not easy to imagine letting a child return to a home that was, at one time, unsafe for them.

But reunification builds on the belief that people can change, lives can improve, and families deserve second chances to thrive. It also reflects studies that show significant benefits for children and their parents.

For example, shortly after Kayla brought her baby boy home, she got a knock at the door. It was child protective services, inquiring about allegations that her home was unfit for her infant and her daughter. Kayla knew she struggled with mental health and substance abuse problems, but she wasn't ready to lose her children. No one is.

But when her children were taken from her, it was a wake-up call. She got a new job and cut off the bad influences in her life. She secured an apartment, attended training sessions and substance abuse programs, and she committed to getting her children back as fast as possible. Six months after that fateful knock, she was reunited.

Reunification isn't just about getting kids back home, it's about providing families the chance to reset.

The benefits of reunification include:

• Improved permanency outcomes for children and parents.
• Improved development outcomes for children
• Maintenance of a child's cultural ties and relationships with extended family

It's critical for foster parents to understand these benefits because supporting reunification is one of the biggest emotional and logistical challenges of foster parenting.

How It Works: A Roadmap To Reunification

Reunification gives birth parents a reason to confront their personal issues, get help, and become the parents their children deserve to have. For some, that process may only take weeks. For others, it can take months or years.

Through it all, foster parents ensure that their child is safe in a loving home. They also support the reunification process, which starts even before a child is placed with them.

1.

Foster parents become licensed and learn about the benefits of reunification by talking to their agency and connecting with other experienced foster families.

2.

As soon as a child is placed, foster parents work to establish a connection with a child's family, when safe.

3.

Foster parents maintain frequent, positive contact with a child's family.

4.

During reunification, foster parents lean on non-profits and other foster families for support, though state-licensed families typically have less support.

5.

Beyond reunification, established connections ideally continue. Many foster families go on to babysit, celebrate holidays, and spend other special occasions with their foster child's family.

The Power of Empathy

Empathy is a critical component of reunification. Successful foster parents exhibit empathy for:

• Birth parents who are struggling to create an environment that's suitable for their children.
• Children who are confused and scared about being separated from their families.
• Social workers doing their best amidst overwhelming caseloads.

Foster-To-Adopt

Families who have heard the phrase "foster-to-adopt" may see foster care as an alternative path to adoption.

But there's a problem with that thinking: The goal of foster care is reunification, not adoption. While it's true that some children in out-of-home care are adopted by their foster parents, it's not common.

Because of the benefits of reunification, agencies, caseworkers, and birth parents commit to that end result. Foster parents who want to adopt are bound to struggle in a system that's designed to reconnect families rather than separate them permanently.

While it's true that some children in out-of-home care are adopted by their foster parents, it's not common. In Washington State, only 16% of children in out-of-home care are adopted.

When adoptions do happen, they're typically for older youth (ages 11-17) who have suffered trauma and need adoptive parents who have experience in therapeutic parenting.

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Source: https://foster.wachildrenandfamilies.org/how-to-become-a-foster-parent-in-wa

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