Foster Parent Role:

For many people it is not clear what role foster parents should play. There’s often a lot of questions and general confusion about this position.

A foster parent is someone who provides a safe, supportive, and stable family environment for children who are unable to live with their birth parents. A primary goal of foster parenting is to help reunify children with their birth families, assuming this can be done safely. If this cannot be done safely, Department of Human Services will often look to foster parents to adopt these children.

When a child is placed in your home, as foster parents you are responsible for providing a loving, nurturing, healing environment, and partnering with a team of professionals working towards group goals. These group goals touch on the child’s physical, psychological, emotional, educational, social, and recreational needs.

For many of our children, living in a healthy family environment, is a brand new experience. The simple day-to-day interactions of your family will provide invaluable opportunities to introduce foster children to a new way of living. This “new way of living,” may also bring up challenges with your foster child. Be assured, we will help you work through these difficulties as they arise.

Being a foster parent is a 24/7 commitment.  As such, the experience with the foster child is unique, and the information you provide to our team of professionals will help us help you parent more effectively.

Agency Role:

We know you have an interest in family life and wanting to help children in need.  What you might not know is you cannot become a foster parent unless you work with a certified child placing agency like Maple Star.

Our role is to answer your initial questions and walk you through each step in preparing to be a foster parent.  We then match your family with a child in need and provide 24/7 post-placement support.

As we work with you, we’ll learn the special way your family is shaped.  This understanding helps us determine if you can become a foster parent and what child would be a good match for your home.

Once a child is placed in your home, we do not leave you without support.  To the contrary, you will be assigned a Home Supervisor to help you on your journey.  The Home Supervisor is usually your “first call” if a problem arises and is available during normal business hours.  Plus, since problems don’t keep a schedule, Maple Star offers a 24/7, 365-days-a-year hotline to assist you, even at 3 am!.