Your choice to become a foster parent will be the most rewarding and sometimes challenging decision you make to improve the lives of our children. As a foster parent, you will use your life experiences to help a child experience a safe and stable family setting, develop community connections and transition to a permanent family placement.

In order to become a licensed foster parent in Virginia, there are various qualifications and requirements to start the process. HumanKind will guide you through the steps to becoming a foster parent, which include:

• Orientation & Mutual Assessment Meeting: HumanKind agency representatives provide an information session to explain the requirements and answer questions related to becoming a foster parent.

• Pre-service Training: 16 hours of required training is offered to prepare parents to understand the needs of children in foster care, understand the tools and philosophies that guide foster parenting and explore thoughts, feelings and behaviors around each training topic

• Home Study & Paperwork: After pre-service training is completed, an assessment of a parent’s ability to provide a safe and nurturing family environment for a child is conducted and a written document is completed that covers life experiences, personal relationships, finances, medical history and criminal background checks

• CPR & First Aid/Medication Management Training: Being CPR and First Aid certified is important for working with kids of all ages. All foster parents are required to complete CPR & First Aid training, which can be done online. Additionally, foster parents will receive Medication Management as part of their foster parent training course.

• Approval: Once all the requirements have been met, a family’s home study is approved and sent to local departments of social services for consideration of children needing foster care placements.

• Attend monthly trainings/support groups: We want our foster parents to continue learning and developing skills to better care for the children in their homes. All foster parents are required to attend 12 hours of foster parent training a year to maintain their license.

• Must be at least 21 years old

• May be married, single or divorced

• Must have space in your home and heart for additional children

• Must have a stable income sufficient to provide for your family

• Must have no founded child abuse and/or neglect complaints

• Must have no felonies of any kind or committed a barrier crime

• Must have a good driving record

• Your home must meet basic requirements

• You must be willing to work as a member of a team in meeting the needs of children placed in your car

Typically, they are children who have experienced abuse and neglect.  They often have emotional and/or behavioral problems. The symptoms of these needs can vary from bedwetting to physical and emotional aggression.  Most have at least one DSM-IV diagnosis such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality, oppositional defiant, and/or ADHD. Typical and common services to assist children include counseling, skill-building, and/or psychiatric services. Because of this, the child is likely to have multiple appointments on a weekly basis.

Yes, you will always be given the choice of the type of child to be placed in your home.  This may include such things as age, gender, and presenting problems or behaviors such as those discussed above.  Don’t be afraid to say no to a possible placement. It is in everyone’s best interest to be honest about your concerns and preferences.

Foster parent reimbursement is regulated by the VEMAT score.  It can be confusing initially but something that will be discussed during orientation.

The approval process takes approximately 8 – 12 weeks. For certification as a treatment foster parent with HumanKind, please contact Jamie Creasy at 434.444.0059 or Jcreasy@humankind.org.

This varies. It may take longer to place a child in your home depending on the age range, gender, number of children, and behaviors you are equipped to support in your home. The length of stay in your home also depends on a number of factors, such as the permanency plan and treatment goal. This information will be discussed more during the orientation, training, and home visits.