In this story from RaiseAChild, hear from Los Angeles foster parents, Dana and Jessie, as they share their foster to adoption journey. Raise A Child, an LA-based nonprofit organization, is dedicated to recruiting, training and building LGBT foster parents and families.
Learn More About What Fostering and Adopting
A foster parent or family, also known as a “Resource parent” is a family who opens their homes to children or teens who have been removed from their birth parents and provides temporary care. With the passing of the Continuum of Care Reform or Assembly Bill B403 in January 2017, more resource families are needed today to care for the staggering number of foster youth without a permanent family. Helpful qualities include being willing to seek out and use support services, learn new parenting techniques, and advocate for your child. Flexibility and humor go a long way as well! Critical to being a successful foster and adoptive parent is understanding the challenges these children have faced and not taking their behavior personally. You do not need to be married; in fact many single people are successful foster and adoptive parents. You also don’t need to own your own home, be wealthy, have children already, have a college degree, or be a stay-at-home parent to adopt. However, you do need to demonstrate that you can support yourself without any additional income, such as adoption assistance. To learn more about the steps to becoming a foster parent, visit our Learn | Family page.
Why Not You?
It only takes one caring adult to make a difference in the life of a foster youth. Find out how you can get involved at ToFosterChange.org.
