Environmental Alternatives - Nonprofit corporation providing residential care to children in Northern California

Becoming a Foster Parent

Children are removed from biological parents because of neglect, abuse or delinquency. Severely disturbed or delinquent children are sent to institutional care facilities or group homes. Infants and toddlers may go to adoptive homes. The remaining, larger group of children, are placed in foster homes.
Types of children. As you can imagine, foster children have problems. At the very least, removal from their biological parents causes trauma. Usually, these children are damaged by poor parenting, if not serious neglect, abuse or molest. They were removed from their parents by County Child Protective Services or Probation Departments. The matter is then brought to Juvenile Court where the children are made wards or dependent children of the Court.
Foster Family Agencies (FFAs) may receive children at any point in the judicial process, from the first night away from the parental home, to children who haven't lived with their parents for many years. Correspondingly, FFAs may be given a great deal of information about a child; or sometimes very little, especially when a child is first placed on an emergency basis. Environmental Alternatives (EA) shares with foster parents all information available, including court reports. While EA screens children for appropriateness, foster parents are under no obligation to accept a child, for any reason. EA's primary task is to make a good match, one in which both you and the child can flourish. Foster care is not a commitment for the lifetime of the child, but rather, a commitment to be important in a child's lifetime. As a foster parent you will be important, regardless of whether you provide overnight care or develop a life-long bond.
Rights of Foster Families. Not only do children and natural parents have rights, but foster parents have rights also. If a placement is not succeeding, you can have the child removed from your home. EA respects your decision. You also have the right to be free of pressure or harassment from the child's natural parents. The natural parents have no right to visit in your home. Additionally, you have the right to convey your feelings and observations about the child's welfare to the Juvenile Court Judge in writing or aloud in Court.
EA will help you become aware of all your legal rights when you are "certified" with us.
The maximum number of children a family can take under a foster home license is six. Most families take only one or two children.
Advantages of Foster Family Agency. Our FFA is part of a nonprofit, charitable corporation (Environmental Alternatives), regulated by the State and Federal government. EA is licensed and a fee is set by the State to provide a variety of social services to foster families and foster children. In turn, we are authorized to issue certifications to foster homes.
Counties place children in certified homes for a number of reasons. They may not have enough homes or they need a more specialized home having the extra training and support provided by FFAs. Because of the special attention given to the foster family and foster child, the State authorizes more money to support the program. The difference between what EA pays foster parents and what the Counties offer is about $200 per month.
More important than the increased rate, EA offers much more contact, guidance, and training than if the foster family received children directly from counties. EA recruits children from county agencies and screen them for appropriateness. EA provides monthly training sessions given by a variety of local experts in the child care field. These meetings also afford time for foster parents to share their experiences.
Counties could do these things, but because of complex budgetary constraints, seldom can. Our availability and interest in making the placement work is a real plus for foster families. With the added services provided and greater financial support to care for children, it makes sense to work with FFAs rather than work independently with county agencies. That is why FFAs have rapidly expanded throughout the State.
An alternative to working under an FFA's Certification is to apply for a State License. This can be done directly with the State (Community Care Licensing) or from counties authorized to issue licenses. The regulations covering Licenses and Certifications are quite similar. Everyone requires applicants to undergo an "orientation" to foster care and its regulations. Since there is less assistance under a State License and payments are lower, most families find foster family agencies the better alternative. If you want to switch between a License and Certification, it is a relatively easy process.
The foster care process begins with finding the right foster families. EA's screening process is more intense than the minimal legal standards. Because we are a private agency, regulated but not run by the government, we can set higher standards than the minimal established by the State. The quality of our agency is really the quality of the foster families. EA wants families that do a good job, not ones we have to worry about. It is because of the quality of our foster parents that Counties place children with us.
Besides looking for suitable foster parents, we use the screening process to educate families in their role as foster parents. The program continues by providing a family with ongoing assistance. Each family is assigned a social worker. That person will visit your home weekly to assist and share with you the joys and tribulations of child rearing. We can provide direct counseling or therapy to the child either from our staff or through other qualified professionals. However, we find that helping foster parents "counsel" the child is usually much more effective than formal therapy.
EA's program offers monthly training sessions from local experts on a variety of subjects such as child psychology, child-rearing, first aid, employment, the law, and school issues. These are informal meetings where parents are also given a chance to share experiences and discuss common problems. All foster families are required by law to complete a minimum of twelve hours of such training per year.
Foster families have occasional contacts with the child's Social Service Worker or Probation Officer. They are definitely helpful people who offer yet another resource. They are also the child's legal guardian, acting in behalf of the Court.
EA has staff on call 24 hours a day to provide emergency help. EA also has a unique policy of "non-ownership" of cases. This means that you are free to ask anyone in our agency for help, without fear of stepping on toes. More importantly, it means that you don't have to wait until "your" social worker comes back from vacation to get your question answered. Any staff person is expected to help you. Feel free to pick who you want to work with.
Expectations. We expect foster families to provide a normal home atmosphere and normal supervision. Clearly, there is a wide range of "normal" parenting with lots of room for individual differences. We want family practices to be reasonable and appropriate. We believe it's the daily exposure to healthy, regular families that does more good than anything we, or you, say to the child.
However, these children may have special problems that need creative alternatives. They are different than your natural children. Here's where EA can be of assistance. Our social workers can suggest alternatives when the techniques you used successfully on your natural children now won't work on the foster child. Being a foster parent demands a greater degree of flexibility to make the match work. EA's interest is in finding workable solutions, not in finding fault or taking over the parenting role.
The Law. You will be provided all the necessary information to be a foster family. You may encounter some restrictions or changes imposed by law, but not many. Government encourages the growth of foster families as alternatives to institutional care.
Reimbursement. The rate per month we are offering varies by age of child but is from $650 to $750. This rate includes all child expenses such as clothing, food, transportation, shelter, and recreation. It also includes the cost of attending required training meetings. Medical costs are covered by MediCal. The money you receive for foster care is tax-exempt. EA also provides liability insurance to cover each family.

To learn more or begin an application, contact your nearest EA office or call: (800) 655-8350. You can also leave a message in our E-Mail Message Center for someone to call.