2018 has arrived! Are you searching for a New Year’s resolution, but just aren’t exactly sure what you should resolve to do? Do you love children and think they deserve to be cared for in a safe and nurturing home? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you should consider becoming a foster parent to one (or more) of the thousands of children who are currently in foster care in Washington state.

What’s that, you say? You’d love to foster but fear you would get too attached to the children in your care and it would break your heart for them to leave? If you feel that way, you are EXACTLY the kind of person that is wanted/needed to become a foster parent! The children in foster care deserve caregivers who love them, and attach to them, because that love and attachment is one element that helps the children heal from the traumas they have endured in their lives.

How exactly does one become a foster parent? In order to become a foster parent, one must do the following: 1) complete a foster parent orientation (in-person or online); 2) complete a 24-hour training course called Caregiver Core Training; 3) complete CPR/First Aid/Bloodborne Pathogens training; 4) fill out an application and complete the other forms needed by the Department of Licensing and Regulations; 5) pass a home study.

These requirements may seem overwhelming at first, but everything is doable within a reasonable amount of time. FosteringWA staff are available to help guide/support you through every step of the licensing process. Would you like to talk with someone at FosteringWA about becoming a foster parent? Please call Hayley Stoebner, Recruitment Coordinator for Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Adams Counties, at 509-322-1191 or hstoebner@ewu.edu.

Hayley Stoebner

FosteringWA