Support and Assistance for Foster Parents

COMPENSATION:

Foster parents receive a stipend for providing care for children. Children with special needs are eligible for increased “special needs” funding. Clothing costs should be covered under the monthly reimbursement but all school age children get an additional clothing allowance when they are initially placed and then annually thereafter.

link: Foster Care Rate Sheet

MEDICAL NEEDS:

Some of the children are covered by their birth parent’s insurance. Most foster children qualify for Medi-Cal, which pays for the children’s medical, dental, counseling, and other health-related expenses. We have a Public Health Nurse who helps foster parents find available Medi-Cal providers.

If you are a Kaiser member, we suggest that you ask their Benefits Office whether they will accept Medi-Cal for your foster child.

PRE-SERVICE TRAINING:

All foster parents receive 22 hours of free training as well as CPR and First Aid classes at minimal cost before a child is placed in their homes. The training helps the foster families meet the needs of the children placed in the home. Topics may include crisis intervention, substance abuse, issues and stages of development, behavior and positive discipline.

ON-GOING TRAINING AND SUPPORT:

We have a network of foster families involved in the Emergency Foster Home (EFH) Program. These foster parents are part of a community where training, mentoring and support are provided so that they feel empowered by the work they do and want to continue to be a part of the foster parent community.

Three times each month foster parents gather together in different geographic areas of the county in what is called “Cluster Meetings” to discuss any concerns they may be having with a particular child and get feedback from their peers and the EFH Coordinator. Additionally, monthly trainings are provided on a wide range of subjects related to caring for children in foster care. These trainings are coordinated with the EFH Coordinator, Santa Rosa Junior College, UC Davis, and the Redwood Empire Foster Parents Association. These monthly trainings and Cluster Meetings offered by the EFH program can be used to meet the required eight hours of annual training needed for each foster parent.

SOCIAL WORKER VISITS:

Each child is assigned to a social worker who visits regularly with the child and the foster parents. The social worker is also available by phone when needed. When appropriate, you may be referred to community resources.

REDWOOD EMPIRE FOSTER PARENT ASSOCIATION:

REFPA provides mentoring and support for its members and acts as an advocate for foster parents and for the children in their care. Foster parents that elect to join the Redwood Empire Foster Parent Association (REFPA) are eligible for additional respite care funds.

link: www.refpa.org

FOSTER PARENT MENTOR:

A Foster Parent Mentor is available to walk you through the steps to becoming a foster parent. The Foster Parent Mentor is a seasoned foster parent who has first hand experience and is available to provide support for new foster parents. Once you begin the process to become a foster parent, the Foster Parent Mentor will be in touch to see how she can help. She has created her own independent blog where people can learn what it is like to do Foster Care or Concurrent Foster Care(FostAdopt) with Sonoma County from a foster parents perspective.

(Please note that this is an independently run blog and Sonoma County has not approved or verified its content).

link: http://www.sonomacountyfostermentor.blogspot.com/