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Originally Posted By Kari

Hi Amy, I hope you are on your way already to becoming foster parents, but in case you are still wondering how to get started I thought I'd post a little info here! My husband and I have been foster parents for over 14 years now. We started when our biological children were very young and we took in teenage girls. When our children got a little older we took younger children. We have now adopted one of the kids who came here for foster care and are only doing emergency care for the county because we have 5 children now. The first step is to call your county human services dept. and see what kind of classes and training they offer and require for foster care. They will guide you from there. I think things have changed a lot since we got licensed, so I won't even try to tell you the requirements (and states differ from each other too). The best advice that I can give to you is to respect those who you are trying to help. Respect the child...he or she will have traits and behaviors that will not be the same as yours, but they are unique people who have been raised in difficult circumstances. Respect the parents of the child as much as possible, try to see the positive things that they have done for their child. I know that you will be horrified by some of the cases you will come across...but give the parents as much respect as possible. If nothing else, respect the fact that they are your foster child's parents. I wish for you what we have had from our foster parenting experience....a great adventure! Kari