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Join
Us
There are many
ways to join the Carpe Diem team: as a foster parent, a
volunteer driver, a Family Support Worker, a relief home family, a
recreational mentor, a placement student from high school or college,
or a volunteer. We will certainly try to use whatever skills
and abilities you may have to offer!
Foster
parents:
 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
- Return the Letter
of Interest
- Meet with a Carpe
Diem Staff at your home
- Complete and
return the Application Form and all relevant documents
- Meet at least two
more times with Carpe Diem Staff
- Be approved as a
Relief Foster Home.
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.
Requirements for foster parenting:
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.
Requirements
- 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
autos are smoke free zones.
- Organizational
skills are essential. You will need to keep track of dates,
appointments, receipts and deadlines.
- Love for children
who are “relationship resistant” is most critical. You will
not get all your needs met, but will be working hard to meet the
child’s needs.
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Relief
Foster Parenting:
Many families would like to offer their love and support to a foster
child without giving up one person’s career or salary, or without a
full-time commitment. Relief foster parenting is an excellent
option. This is also the process by which homes become full-time within
our agency.
The Importance of Relief
- Regular relief is
provided once every six weeks.
- A relief weekend
is usually 48 hours.
- Each full-time
foster family responds to fostering in their own unique way.
- Each family has
to deal with the stress of ongoing family life, plus the addition of a
child in transition with behavioural and emotional needs and issues.
- Relief is a way
of regenerating the entire family.
- It also gives the
foster child a chance to enjoy another family environment and build
additional therapeutic relationships
The relief home
relationship:
- Ideally, the
relief home is consistent and relief occurs every six weeks on a
continuous basis.
- This allows the
child a chance to get to know the family, and allows the relief family
a chance to accommodate the child.
- Relief weekends
can be a break from the full-time home for the child, where she may
feel the stress of working on issues.
- Relief weekends
can and should be FUN and RESTFUL for the child and the relief home
family.
Carpe Diem
TreeThe relief home is an important part of the foster child’s
treatment plan. While preserving the full-time foster home,
relief is also a way of giving everyone a chance to get some space and
relax ~ very much like an overnight at a favourite aunt or uncle's
home, or a visit to grandma for the weekend. It is a
wonderful experience for foster children to develop an extended
relationship with their relief home.
It is important, therefore, that the relief home and the foster home
communicate clearly and sensitively with one another.
Sometimes an element of competition or jealousy enters into the adult
relationships – only the child suffers if this goes
unchecked. Foster and relief homes work best together when
there is an element of trust and respect between them: that
is only built through communication.
There are times when children “honeymoon” at a relief home; that is,
the relief home may not see a lot of the negative acting out that
occurs within the full-time home. While it is tempting to
believe that this is due to the expertise of the relief home, most
often it is because the child is able to put the “emotional” work to
rest for the weekend – thus, less behaviour! It is also seen
as a fun weekend to go on “overnights”.
Please note that we DO NOT refer to these weekends as “relief” with the
children. Also, the driving back and forth is shared between
both homes and is not reimbursed.
Please see the section on Process and Requirements for more information.
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The
Role of Students
Carpe Diem is based upon a “teaching” philosophy – we believe that we
are all learning, whatever our role entails. Students, then, are
especially important to our agency as they can add to the lives of the
children, foster parents and staff supervisors. We accept high school
co-op students and college practicum students from many different
programs.
The student’s placement is often tailored to meet his or her specific
goals, depending on her interests, previous experience, and years in
the college program.
Placement Requirements
A placement at Carpe Diem is quite independent. Students are usually
meeting with children and families on their own, after having set up
goals and activities with their supervisors. A student needs to have a
great deal of initiative to get the most out of this placement.
Students need to be able to demonstrate basic work ethic and enthusiasm
for children!
College students need a reliable verhicle and need to be prepared for
primarily evening work hours. Unfortunately, Carpe Diem
cannot provide reimbursement for mileage.
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Student
opportunities:
- To work
specifically with a number of families and children in a support
role. For example to provide recreational, educational
activities or provide in-home support.
- To provide
therapeutic support to a family or children. For example to
provide activities based on the child’s treatment plan, to be involved
in additional treatment approaches (like supporting a child at a
community social skills group).
- To assist the
child throughout the day in a school setting, including meeting with
support people and acting as a liaison between home and school.
- To assist with
groups.
- To assume some
Case Manager duties.
Student
Supervision
Students are assigned a Supervisor who is a full-time member of the
Carpe Diem team. All staff feel responsible to provide any students
with feedback and learning experiences.
Supervision occurs both informally and formally. Informal supervision
occurs “on the spot” and may be discussions over a break or in the car,
for example. Formal supervision meetings are set up by appointment and
involve planning by the student and supervisor. They are
usually longer in length and have an agenda. Students are responsible
for asking for supervision if they feel they need more, or supervision
of a different kind!
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Volunteer
Drivers
One of the most difficult positions to fill in a child’s treatment
plan, is that of the volunteer driver. Contrary to the title,
Drivers do get reimbursed for their mileage and waiting time at an
appointment, so although it is not a salaried position, there is
reimbursement.
Why do we need Drivers? Many of the children who come into
foster care continue to have visits with their biological families and
siblings during and after the court process. Sometimes,
children will meet with their families two or three times a week.
Sometimes it may only be once a month. These visits are court
ordered and must not be missed.
In most cases, it is best if the foster parent and biological parent do
not meet on an ongoing basis. Sometimes the bio parent may be
angry at the foster parent – blaming a foster parent for the separation
from the child. Although this may not be logical, it is easy
to understand why a parent might resent a stranger raising their child.
It can be too difficult to sustain positive, ongoing interactions
between foster and biological parents. Also, the foster
parent often has other children at home and so is unavailable to do
drives. These are a few of the reasons why we might need
drivers to take children to visits.
These visits can be very emotional for foster children. A
good driver can provide some consistency and a safe place for the
children before and after their visit. While we do not
encourage our drivers to do any ‘counselling’ with the children,
drivers often sing songs, play games, provide musical tapes or
colouring books in the car. Just knowing that they will be
seeing a positive, caring adult can be important.
What is required to be a Volunteer Driver?
- A recent police
clearance
- A clean driver’s
abstract
- A reliable
vehicle that meets safety standards
- Up–to-date auto
insurance
- Availability
during days, evenings or weekends
- An enjoyment of
children and patience for “car driving behaviour”
- Comfortability
driving to new places, on the highway, accessing directions
What are the
benefits of being a Volunteer Driver?
- Tax free income
that does not need to be claimed
- Fun relationships
with children on a time limited basis
- A sense of
contributing to the well-being of a child and providing a needed
service to the community.
If you are
interested in becoming a volunteer driver with us, please contact
Charlene Fellows at drives@carpediem.ca
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