Did you know that there are approximately 10,000 children and youth in Arizona’s foster care system, but less than 2,400 licensed foster families available (AZ DCS)? The need for foster homes in Arizona is significant. If you’re considering opening your home to a child in need of a safe, caring environment, understanding the basic requirements for fostering in Arizona is key to making an informed decision. In this informational guide, we’ll be discussing the process of becoming a foster family in the state of Arizona. Topics covered will include:
- Things to keep in mind if you’re considering providing foster care for a child
- The differences between fostering, adoption, and kinship care
- Requirements for Arizona foster parents
Foster Parents Help to Create Brighter Futures for Arizona Children
Children of all ages are in need of loving homes that can provide temporary care until family reunification or adoption can be achieved. In many cases, the state of Arizona is named the child’s official legal guardian, whether due to neglect, abuse, or other factors that have created an unsafe living environment. Give Now
Do I Have What It Takes to Foster or Adopt?
When you volunteer as a foster or adoptive parent, you are committing to providing more than just a place for the child to live. Ultimately, you are promising to meet the child’s daily needs in your care, including supporting their physical, educational, developmental, emotional, and social growth. There’s no question that fostering and adopting come with great responsibility – but it also provides the incredible opportunity to reshape a child’s present and future with the power of compassion and love.
Fostering, Adoption, Kinship Care: What’s the Difference?
Depending on each child’s specific situation, there are a few different placement scenarios that may occur. Some children experience all three of these scenarios, while others only spend a short time in one form of care and are reunited with their families.
- Kinship care refers to the care of children provided by extended family members (or in some states, close family friends). For example, many children that cannot be cared for by their biological parents are raised by their grandparents, aunts/uncles, or even adult siblings.
- Foster care is a temporary care arrangement intended to ensure the health and safety of a child while their parent(s) are unable to provide proper care. This form of care is frequently provided in the form of private homes/foster families but may also be facilitated by group homes/wards.
- Adoption is the process by which a child is legally made a permanent member of a given family, transferring all rights and responsibilities from the biological parent(s) to the adoptive parent(s).
Foster Parent Requirements & Guidelines
The process to become a foster parent in Arizona is highly involved because it is of the utmost importance that the children are entrusted only to families that can provide safe, healthy, and loving homes. Foster parent requirements in Arizona state that you must:
- Be 21 or older
- Be able to care for children
- Pass a criminal background check and qualify for a fingerprint clearance card (this requirement applies to all adults in the household, as well as any adults who will regularly come into contact with the child)
- Complete a home study and home safety inspection
- Pass a physical exam and receive a doctor’s statement that they are sufficiently healthy to provide care
Arizona Friends of Foster Children is happy to connect Arizona adults considering becoming foster parents to additional information and support.
Steps to Becoming a Foster Parent in Arizona
Here are the essential steps somebody must take to become a foster parent:
1. Do the Paperwork
Like any official process, becoming a foster parent in Arizona begins with submitting all necessary paperwork. You will complete and submit an application with basic details like name, address, and contacts at the Arizona Department of Child Safety.
After you complete the form, the child safety agency will need essential documents to verify your identity and background. These documents include a valid government-issued ID, a birth certificate, and proof of income.
2. Pass a Criminal Background Check
Many children enter foster care due to abuse, neglect, or other forms of harm within their biological families. For this reason, child welfare agencies do all they can to ensure that the kids don’t face similar trauma while in foster care.
For this reason, these agencies will run a background check to ascertain if you can provide the safety required in foster care. Typically, when checking your criminal background, child welfare agencies verify whether you’ve been involved in criminal activities that may pose risks to a kid’s well-being.
3. Complete a Home Study
A child welfare agency will schedule a home study to evaluate if your living space is suitable to accommodate a child who needs foster care. During the study, social workers will conduct interviews with all household members to assess their readiness for the foster care role.
Apart from the interview, the social workers will assess if your home is safe. In particular, the social workers will check if you have mechanisms to lock medications and poisons, a first aid kit, smoke alarms, and fire extinguishers.
4. Pass a Physical and Emotional Wellness Exam
As part of the process to become a foster parent, child welfare agencies might require physical and emotional wellness exams. A physical exam helps identify underlying health concerns that may affect your ability to parent effectively.
On the contrary, an emotional wellness exam evaluates your mental readiness to handle the challenges of foster care. These exams ensure that you are healthy enough to nurture a kid who is healing from past trauma.
5. Attend Training
After fulfilling all requirements for becoming a foster parent, you will undergo training at Foster Parent College. The training program covers essential topics like trauma, court processes, the roles of a foster parent, and parenting techniques.
The training, which is partly online and in person, spans approximately five weeks. It equips you with the knowledge you need to provide quality care to children in foster care easily.
In addition to foster care training, you will undertake first aid and CPR training. The first aid training ensures that you are able to respond to accidents and other medical crises that may arise while caring for a child in foster care.
You Don’t Need to be a Foster Parent to Help Children
Sometimes, you may not qualify to become a foster parent. You may be under 21 years old, need more financial stability, or need more living space. Whatever the reason, you can still show some love to a kid in need.
One way to support vulnerable kids is to donate to the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation. Your donation will fund a range of initiatives, including educational scholarships, extracurricular activities, and basic needs assistance.
Give your donation to support a kid in foster care, or contact us for more information on how you can help children in foster care in Arizona today.
How Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation Helps Children in Foster Care
AFFCF supports Arizona foster families by providing easy access to helpful resources. This includes a comprehensive directory of the local, statewide and nationwide programs that support children in foster care and their foster parents/caregivers. We encourage both new and experienced foster caregivers to browse our resources to discover the various forms of support that may be available. Additionally, AFFCF currently operates several different programs that aim to create better outcomes for children in foster care, including:
- Financial Awards that enable children in foster homes to participate in a broad range of educational, social and athletic activities and experiences
- Keys to Success, a program intended to help teens and young adults transition from the foster care system into a fulfilling future as an independent adult
- Scholarships that give youth growing up in foster care a path to post-secondary education
- Focus Foward Fund, which provides emergency financial assistance to young adults who have recently aged out of the Arizona foster care system
Make a Difference in the Lives of Children in Arizona Foster Care
When you become a foster parent, the compassion and care you provide for children in need change lives every day. Even if you aren’t able to commit to foster placement right now, you can still make a positive impact for Arizona’s children in foster care. A donation to Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation – no matter the dollar amount – directly funds programs and services for children in our state’s foster care system. Since 1984, we have been providing children in foster care the quality experiences and opportunities they deserve. And when you contribute to our Arizona nonprofit organization, you play an active role in supporting our mission. For more information about how to help children in foster care, we invite you to contact AFFCF today.
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