Full-time
All of our full-time foster parents begin as relief foster parents, that is, a home that takes foster children for 48 hours, usually on the weekend, to provide a break for the full-time foster family and the foster children. We believe strongly in this process, as it is important to spend time with foster children and assess the impact on you and your family before you commit to a full-time child who would have to be moved if you change your mind. Many foster parent applicants are loving, generous people who decide that foster parenting is for them; some of these loving generous people determine that relief foster parenting is just right; some decide to wait for another time in their lives. All of these decisions are just fine.
Here is the process for becoming a Carpe Diem foster parent:
- Attend, with your partner, a Foster Parent Information Night
- Email Carpe Diem within 7 days to indicate your interest in persuing fostering
- Attend a Carpe Diem screening meeting
with 3 members of the Carpe Diem Leadership Team - Await approval from Carpe Diem to proceed to next steps
- Complete and return the Application Form and all relevant documents
- Meet at least two more times with Carpe Diem Home Assessor in order for your Home Study to be completed
- Home inspection to be completed by a member of the Carpe Diem Leadership Team
- Be approved as a Relief Foster Home.
- Attend “New Foster Parent” Training @ Carpe Diem
Please be aware that you will be expected to provide relief for at least 6 months to a year before being considered for full-time fostering. During this time you will attend Relief Home Training and Development, and speak with an assigned Relief Home Case Manager. We recognize that this is a long time to wait for full-time children, but feel strongly that this is the best process.
We have found that long-term foster parents possess many of the following characteristics:
- Flexibility, creativity, patience
- Good child management skills/experience with children
- Excellent communication with children and adults
- Ability to work with professionals and within 'systems'
- Problem solving skills and high frustration tolerance
- Crisis management - staying calm
- Willingness to accept feedback and make changes.
- There must be one adult who is the full-time identified primary caregiver. Foster parenting is the only employment for this person and he/she ‘stays home’.
- Good physical and mental health is necessary and needs to be verified by an attending physician.
- All foster parents are required to have a Standard First Aid course and Non-violent Crisis Intervention which Carpe Diem will provide or assist with.
- Attendance is expected at all monthly Resource Meetings.
- At least one person in the home must drive and be available to do drives to appointments, meetings, etc.
- It is really important that foster parents are able to get along with other adults! Although your work is with children, a lot of what you will do is with other professionals, other foster parents or the natural parents of foster children. We need to trust you to represent Carpe Diem in your ability to get along with others.
- Sometimes foster parents are given feedback about their presentation, attitudes or behaviours. This may require personal growth and change. We always work on your strengths too! Self-awareness is critical to fostering.
- Report writing skills are important, but can be learned. It is NOT necessary that you have a lot of formal education, but you need to be able to fill out basic reports.
- Foster homes and automobiles are smoke free zones.
- Organizational skills are essential. You will need to keep track of dates, appointments, receipts and deadlines.