Congratulations! You’ve

taken the first step into the

 world of foster care.

Now what? First things first,

pray, pray,pray and keep

praying!

 

 

 

Have you considered.....

 

 • Why do you want to be a

foster parent? Your motivation

 for wanting to be a foster

family matters.

 

The goal of foster care is to

 provide a temporary home

for a child until they can be

 safely reunified with their

parent(s). The best interest

of the child should be at the

forefront of all decisions.

 

• Are you willing to work with

the birth family regardless of

how easy or difficult they may

be to work with?

 

• Have you (and your spouse

if married) been intentional

about educating yourselves

on the topic of caring for

children affected by trauma?

 

• Has your spouse been part

of the decision to become a

 licensed foster home? (Yes

you can foster as a single

 person). Are all members of

your household on board with

 your family doing foster care?

 

• How will opening your home

to foster care affect your

family? Children? Extended

 family? Schedules? Finances?

 

• Does your family meet the

basic qualifications?

 

• For two parent households,

are both parents willing to

foster and participate in the

homestudy?

 

• Are all family members in

good health?

 

• Does your family have

enough income to meet all

 household financial

obligations without any type

of foster care payment?

 

• Do all family members have

 a bedroom? If anyone is

sleeping in the basement,

there must be an egress

window or exit directly to the

outside.

 

• Have you utilized the free

 resources for consultation

 before, during and after

 licensure:

 

• Foster Parent Navigator

1-855-MICHKIDS (642-4543)

 

• Social worker from Clara’s

 Hope, (810) 428-6522

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re ready to move

 forward, your next step is

to find an agency.

 

  • Research all your options,

pray, interview staff and

other families.

 

• Options include the

Department of Health and

Human Services and

numerous private child

welfare agencies.

 

• It’s important to find the

 agency that is right for

your family.

 

 

 

Once you’ve selected an

agency, the licensing

process can take six months:

 

 

 • Complete orientation with

your selected agency. Some

 agencies do the one time

 orientation with each family

 individually at the family’s

home while other agencies

hold a group orientation at

their office.

 

• Attend the state mandated

 GROW training. Each agency

schedules GROW training

 differently. You may have the

 option to attend GROW at

another agency depending on

 your schedule and the

agency’s policy.

 

• The homestudy is a lengthy

 document that will be

written about your family by

your assigned licensing

worker and will be submitted

to the Bureau of Child and

Adult Licensing for final

licensing approval. The

licensing worker will come to

 your home a few times to

interview all family members,

 inspect the home to ensure

all state mandated policies

are met and collect all

 documentation needed such

 as physicals, financials,

 veterinary records, etc.

 

• Just a tip: To help speed up

the process, be proactive in

completing appointments for

 physicals, fingerprinting,

etc. and submitting all

needed documentation to

your licensing worker.

 

• If at any point you have

 questions, ask. Don’t be

 afraid to ask and keep on

asking.

 

• If you aren’t getting the

 answers you need, talk with

your agency. You always have

the option to change

agencies. Your license is just

 that. Your license.

 

 

Once your license is

approved, you will be

contacted by your agency

for potential placement.

 

 • When a child needs to be

 placed into foster care,

agencies contact their

licensed families. It is

important when your agency

 contacts you about a

possible placement that you

are ready with a list of

questions. Never say yes to a

 placement immediately and

 absolutely say no if you

and your spouse believe there

 is a reason this placement

isn’t right for your family at

this time.

 

 

 

 

Once you’ve selected an

agency, the licensing

process can take six months:

 

 

 • Complete orientation with

your selected agency. Some

 agencies do the one time

 orientation with each family

 individually at the family’s

home while other agencies

hold a group orientation at

their office.

 

• Attend the state mandated

GROW training. Each agency

 schedules GROW training

 differently. You may have the

option to attend GROW at

another agency depending on

 your schedule and the

agency’s policy.

 

• The homestudy is a lengthy

document that will be

written about your family by

your assigned licensing

worker and will be submitted

to the Bureau of Child and

Adult Licensing for final

licensing approval. The

licensing worker will come to

your home a few times to

 interview all family members,

inspect the home to ensure

 all state mandated policies

are met and collect all

 documentation needed such

as physicals, financials,

 veterinary records, etc.

 

• Just a tip: To help speed up

the process, be proactive in completing appointments for

 physicals, fingerprinting,

etc. and submitting all

needed documentation to

your licensing worker.

 

• If at any point you have

 questions, ask. Don’t be

afraid to ask and keep on

asking.

 

• If you aren’t getting the

 answers you need, talk with

your agency. You always have

the option to change

agencies. Your license is

just that. Your license.

 

 

 

 

Once your license is

approved, you will be

contacted by your agency

for potential placement.

 

 

• When a child needs to be

placed into foster care,

agencies contact their

licensed families. It is

important when your agency contacts you about a possible

 placement that you are

ready with a list of questions.

Never say yes to a placement

 immediately and absolutely

say no if you and your spouse

 believe there is a reason this

 placement isn’t right for

your family at this time.