About Foster Parenting

There are several training options you can choose from to become a foster home. Many organizations called, “Foster Family Agencies,” offer free training, support and other services for foster parents and foster children. A few of these local agencies are listed below. Feel free to contact any of those agencies to find out how to obtain training through their organization. Another training option to becoming a foster home is through the Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services.

In the County of Santa Barbara, often the children placed in the care of Foster Family Agencies come from the Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services, Child Welfare Services (often referred to as, “DSS” or “CWS”). Simply put, DSS or local law enforcement is the agency who detains the child (removes the child from the home). The child is immediately assigned a social worker. That social worker begins searching for a licensed foster family home in which to place the child. Sometimes the social worker places the child with a foster family who has received training and obtained their foster family license through DSS. Other times, the social worker (or DSS) will contact a Foster Family Agency to locate a foster home.

The Need Is Greater Than Ever

Foster parenting is now becoming more professional than ever because the children that come into our homes often have some very special emotional behavior and/or developmental needs. This situation dictates that we all constantly develop a professional understanding of these needs and also learn specific skills to effectively deal with these special needs. This is what makes our job as foster parents more challenging, but also easier and much more satisfying.

There is an increasing demand on foster parents to be part of the professional child welfare team. As we become organized and share our knowledge and resources, we become better equipped to deal with the increasing responsibilities that we, as foster parents, face on a daily basis.

These responsibilities may include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. Special training required to deal with the increasing problems of our children
2. Giving quality information to the caseworkers regarding the needs of the children and communicating with their families, social workers and the courts on a regular basis
3. Participating with the therapists in the treatment of the children
4. Working with school officials concerning the unique needs of foster children.

It is absolutely essential that foster parents actively participate as professional and knowledgeable members of the child welfare team. We must be able to speak up without fear of retaliation or harassment, and can do so effectively only if we have access to all information not restricted by confidentiality rules. As Foster Parent Association members, we can be more effective in meeting the needs of our foster children by participating in training, sharing information, and by giving to and receiving support of other foster parents.

The County of Santa Barbara, Department of Social Services answers FAQ’S about foster parenting.

To Foster A Child, Contact One Of The Following Agencies:

Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara
Aspira Foster Care Services
Family Care Network
Koinonia Foster Homes
Department of Social Services, Child Welfare Department or call 1-866-899-2649

Find out about new legislation and how it affects foster parents.

Basic Foster Parent Rights

Foster Parents have the right to:

• Be treated with consideration, respect for personal dignity, and privacy.
• Be included as a valued member of the service team.
• Receive support services which assist in the care of the child in their home including an open and timely response from agency personnel.
• Be informed of all information regarding the child that will impact their home or family life during the care of the foster child.
• Have input into the permanency plan for the child in their home.
• Assurance of safety for their family members.
• Assistance in dealing with family loss and separation when a child leaves their home.
• Be informed of all agency policies and procedures that related to their role as foster care giver.
• Receive training that will enhance their skills and ability to cope as foster care givers.
• Be informed of how to receive services and reach personnel on a 24 hour day 7 days a week basis.
• Be granted a reasonable plan for relief from the role of foster care giver.
• Confidentiality regarding issues that arise in their foster family home.
• Not be discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, color, creed, sex, national origins, age, or physical handicap.
• Receive evaluation and feedback on their role of foster care giver.

Bill Of Rights for Foster Children In Foster Care:

Ratified in Congress Hall, Philadelphia, Saturday, the Twenty-eighth of April, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Three.

Reaffirmed during the National Focus on Foster Care Conference, Norfolk, Virginia, Wednesday, the Fourth of May, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Three.

Even more than for other children, society has a responsibility along with parents for the well-being of children in foster care. Citizens are responsible for acting to insure their welfare.

Every child in foster care is endowed with the rights inherently belonging to all children. In addition, because of the temporary or permanent separation from and loss of parents and other family members, the child requires special safeguards, resources, and care.

Every Child In Foster Care Has The Inherent Right:

Article the first
…to be cherished by a family of his own, either his family helped by readily available services and supports to reassume his care, or an adoptive family or by plan, a continuing foster family.

Article the second
....to be nurtured by foster parents who have been selected to meet his individual needs, and who are provided services and supports, including specialized education, so that they can grow in their ability to enable the child to reach his potentiality.

Article the third
....to receive sensitive, continuing help in understanding and accepting the reasons for his own family's inability to take care of him, and in developing confidence in his own self worth.

Article the fourth
....to receive continuing loving care and respect as a unique human being...a child growing in trust in himself and others.

Article the fifth
....to grow up in freedom and dignity in a neighborhood of people who accept him with understanding, respect and friendship.

Article the sixth
....to receive help in overcoming deprivation or whatever distortion in his emotional, physical, intellectual, social and spiritual growth may have resulted from his early experiences.

Article the seventh
....to receive education, training, and career guidance to prepare for a useful and satisfying life.

Article the eighth
....to receive preparation for citizenship and parenthood through interaction with foster parents and other adults who are consistent role model.

Article the ninth
....to be represented by an attorney at law in administrative or judicial proceedings with access to fair hearings and court review of decisions, so that his best interests are safeguarded.

Article the tenth
....to receive a high quality of child welfare services, including involvement of the natural parents and his own involvement in major decisions that affect his life.