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WAYS supports partnering Children’s Aid Societies by facilitating foster care placements with families in a number of cities and rural areas across Southwestern Ontario.
What is foster care?
Who are the children in foster care?
Why become a foster parent?
Who can be a foster parent?
Support and Training
- Foster care is intended to be a temporary living situation for children and young people.
- The goal of foster care is to provide for the physical, emotional and social needs of children in a "substitute" family setting.
- Foster families provide a home for children who are unable to live with their natural families.
- Placements can be on an emergency, short-term or long-term basis, depending on the situation and the needs of the child and family.
The enhanced foster care program includes:
- Nurturing environment
- Stabilization
- Observation and assessment
- Meeting diverse needs of the child and family
- Emphasis on safety, predictability and routines
- Healthy and active lifestyle
- Clinical counseling and consultation
Read Daele’s Story for a look at real life foster parenting.
- Referrals come from Children's Aid Societies requiring foster homes across Southwestern Ontario.
- Foster parents can expect that the children will have experienced some trauma in their lives. They may come from situations of abuse, neglect, family conflict or parental illness.
- Foster children require a home that can provide the love, security and stability they need.
- Foster parents have the power to change a child's world for the better, and offer love and support that will stay with them their entire lives.
- Satisfaction comes from watching the children learn and grow.
- When you become a foser parent you can stop the abuse. You can give mothers and fathers time to work things out. You can help brothers and sisters stay together.
- Foster families often find that their own children benefit from living with children in foster care by learning patience, compassion, and how to share with others.
- Couples or single applicants who are 18 years of age or older may apply.
- Potential foster parents are asked to submit to home assessments and attend training.
- Foster families must demonstrate financial and emotional stability, responsibility and a willingness to work with the agency that supervises their home.
- We encourage applicants of cultural, ethnic and religious diversity.
- Foster parents receive initial training and orientation to provide them with the skills to understand and help children to be successful.
- Ongoing training is provided through support meetings and resource material.
- Each home is assigned a foster support worker who provides direct support, advocacy, education and guidance.
- On-call support is offered 24 hours a day.
- Financial reimbursement is provided for the daily cost of care for the children.
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