Foster care involves attending to minor children and raising them up like they are our biological offspring. The foster care system in most respective institution operates on a particular procedure before admitting one to be a foster carer, in a manner that filters out all unfit applicants only to leave the applicants that have met the criteria of a foster carer. In this article, we shall highlight the criteria that foster care agencies abide by while looking for a fit carer in the foster institution.
The criteria applied by foster care agencies while searching for the appropriate adopting parent include;
- Being a well-trained first aider.
- Have a criminal free record
- Ability to effectively communicate with children.
- Acknowledge the support given by foster parents
- Applicant ought to be humble
1. Being a Well-Trained First Aider
Most foster care institutions host minors and more so young toddlers that are between 3 to 9 years. Most children that fall in the said age group take on various child games outdoors. As an adoptive carer, you shall be required to be in the possession of a certificate showing that you are a well-trained first aider trained by a well-recognized first aid institution.
2. Have a Criminal Free Record
Any adult hoping to care for an infant in a foster home ought to own a clean record. Such criminal free records are normally issued by the police administration after a thorough investigation of ones’ life’s affairs. A criminal record provides all manner of information from ones’ criminal activities done such as theft to traffic offenses as well as ones’ credit status. Any bad record, therefore, compromises ones’ capacity to be assented to as a foster caretaker.
3. Ability to Effectively Converse With Children
Being a foster-carer is a noble course. As such, you ought to learn what you need to be a foster carer. Communication is essential in a child’s upbringing. Kids are very impressionable at a tender age thus the need for not just merely communicating, but effectively communicating with them. Some foster care institutions have the applicant visit the foster home and interact with the children at least several times a month, so as to establish whether the applicant is effectively able to converse with children or not.
4. Acknowledge the support given by Adoptive Parents
Children in a foster care unit do come and go contingent upon whether a fostered kid has been found fit for an adopting parent. Whenever a fostered child has found competent adoptive parents, it is required that the caretaker sustain professional relations with the adoptive parents and applaud them for taking responsibility for the adopted child.
5. Applicant Ought to Be Humble
Humility as a virtue is anticipated to be frequently cultivated by a foster home caretaker. Humility is crucial for a caretaker because there is normally a huge sum of kids in foster homes and such environs can get overwhelming. As a caretaker, one is expected to be humble enough to listen to children in their own language and act in the child’s best interest.
In conclusion, foster care is an exceptional profession. For one to successfully succeed as a foster carer, you are obligated to be well-equipped in parenting skills. Being a foster caregiver is a journey for both you as the carer and the minor, to grow together, a day at a time.
