Types of Resource/Foster Families
Foster Family Fundamentals
- Foster families serve a vital role in providing for children in the foster care system. They provide a loving, safe and stable home while their family works through the foster care plan.
- The goal of foster care is to assist biological families in resolving the issues that led to the child’s placement in care so that families can be reunited as quickly and safely as possible.
- Foster care is intended to be temporary for children. If families cannot be reunified within approximately 15 months another permanent option, such as adoption, is pursued.
Types of Resource/Foster Care Families
Short Term – Stand-by/Respite Care:
Short term care provides emergency or planned help for foster and adoptive families. There is a tremendous need for families in this category.
Respite Care: “Part-time parents” who provide temporary care for a few hours or a few days a month to allow foster and adoptive families to regroup and take time for themselves.
Stand-by Care: Families who provide on-call/emergency placement for children after hours (5 p.m.-8:30 a.m.) and on weekends for The Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency.
Long Term – Foster Care:
COBYS foster families provide full-time care for children, ages birth to 18, until children can be safely returned to their biological family or permanently placed in an adoptive home. Foster parents can bring hope, healing and a positive loving influence into the lives of children who have been victimized by abuse and neglect.
Forever – Adoption:
Adoption is a beautiful way to provide a stable, loving, forever home for a child. Foster children who cannot be reunified with their family or placed in a kinship setting need committed families who can provide a lifetime of unconditional love and care.