FAQ

Do you have to be married to do Foster Care?

No. We do, however, require that you are self-sufficient with your financial needs and will not depend on the reimbursement check.

 

Can you adopt through Foster Care?

Certainly! Through foster care, the process can be much faster. This is mostly due to the fact that there is already an established relationship between the child and potential adoptive parents.

 

How much space do I need to have?

Our minimum requirements are that the child has their own bed, dresser and closet space.

 

How long does a child stay in care?

Each child is unique with their care. Some can stay in care for just 1 day, while some can be in stay for 6 months or longer.

 

How long does it take to become a Resource Parent?

It can take approximately 1-3 months. The process depends on how long it will take to complete all necessary paperwork and documentation as well as completion of our training.

 

Will I have to work with the kids’ biological families?

In most instances, foster parents will need to transport their foster children to supervised visits with their biological parents once or twice a week.  In addition, it is important that foster parents never bad mouth or talk down about a foster child’s biological parents.  They are a huge part of the lives of your foster children, and always will be.  You should always treat them with respect, even if you have issues with their lifestyles or circumstances that brought them in to the child welfare system.

 

What do I do if a child is simply out of control?

Children in the foster care system can have significant emotional and behavioral issues when they enter your home.  In many cases, they have never been held to any sort of disciplinary standard before.  It is important to treat them with a compassionate, trauma-informed view, and realize that they are not trying to make your lives more difficult.  In some cases, a child may act up to see if you’ll put up with them, and if you really ‘love’ them.  This is because they have been rejected or neglected by most adults in their lives.

 In the process of becoming a foster parent, you will receive several trainings on these and similar issues.

 

What do I do if I need a break?

Every foster parent occasionally feels like they need a break – it is normal.  We recommend having members of your family or social circles you can occasionally lean on to take the children for an afternoon or multiple days if you’d like to have a weekend without your kids.  We will also help you connect with other foster parents in our agency who you can use for respite.

 

Do foster parents get paid?

Kids Kasa resource parents are reimbursed at a monthly base rate, designed to compensate and reimburse resource parents for the costs of caring for the foster children.  Reimbursement is determined by each night the child spends in the home.  Monthly reimbursement is between $1,160 and $2,706, depending on the needs of the child.  Additionally, some children are eligible for an additional stipend of between $58 to $443 for the costs of transporting them to their school of origin.  

These costs are meant to cover things such as:

• Personal Hygiene (deodorants, hairspray, shampoo, etc)
• Over-the-counter medical care
• Food, clothing and daycare or babysitting.
• Special events and activities for the children.
• Tutoring, school supplies, gym clothing, field trips, school pictures, uniforms, dance clothes, Halloween costumes, band instruments, etc.
• Extracurricular activities/sports
• Camps or recreational activities
• Allowances
• Transportation for all activities, visits and appointments that the child has.