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Foster care at Youth Villages

It's a calling
Being a foster parent is a calling. For a child, there's nothing more important than to have a place to call home, a family to love and parents who believe in them.

As a foster parent, you can transform the life of a child simply by becoming the first person to have faith in her. The first person to care where he is. The first person to believe in what she can become. If you have enough love in your heart for a child who desperately needs it, please help a child find the way home.

Foster a belief. It's more important than a bed. More life-changing than a meal. It's what a child needs. It's a calling.

Become a Youth Villages foster parent
At Youth Villages, we see our foster parents as crucial allies in helping children overcome past trauma and move on to live successful lives. We know that a loving family who treats their foster child like one of their own is more important, more life-changing and more empowering than anything else we can give a child. Because we know that, we provide our foster parents with 24-hour support. That's support anywhere, any time. All you have to do is call.

You will also receive free training to learn how you can be the best parent to a child in foster care, and we provide you with a circle of support at monthly foster parent support groups.

Every month, you will receive a financial reimbursement to help you meet all the child's needs -- food, healthcare, clothing and extracurricular activities.

And if there's something else you need to help you be an even better parent to the child or children in your home, please let us know.

Who are our foster children?
Children enter foster care for a variety of reasons. The majority of the children in foster care have been abused or neglected. Some have been abandoned. Many have never had to follow household rules or had a standard bed time; others have never been to school. Some are angry and frustrated over the things that have happened to them. Some may be sad, afraid to go to sleep at night or have a hard time paying attention at school. Some are upset with adults and do not trust or respect authority. A number of children hide food under their beds or in their backpacks because they are afraid to go hungry again. They can be overly protective of their siblings, afraid of what will happen to them next. Some children have gotten into trouble in the community. Some have hung around the wrong crowd. Some have mental health diagnoses and need therapy and medication. Others have challenging behaviors for which they need help and redirection, and a few have developmental delays and learning disabilities. Many have never heard an adult tell them, "I love you." And many of them have become used to their parents' disappearing for days, never knowing when they will be back, what they will eat, how they can stay cool when the electricity gets cut off again in their apartment and where they can get water. Most have suffered terrible disappointments by the people they care about most.

Children in foster care are children who need you: a caring adult who will love them and show them that life can be different. A parent who will show them what being a family is all about. A parent who will make the difference in their lives. Will you be that parent?

Find a foster care recruiter in your area:
Tennessee	Mississippi	Alabama

Do you want to know more about being a foster parent? Below are some common questions and some answers that will hopefully help you. You can also always call us to talk to one of our foster care recruiters over the phone. Our free information sessions are designed for you to meet our foster care recruiter in person and find out everything you want to know about being a foster parent.

Common questions and answers:
How long do children stay with their foster families?
There is no simple answer to this question. The truth is, it varies. But our goal is to make a child's stay in foster care as short as possible but as long as necessary.

Where do children go from foster care?
At Youth Villages, we know how important foster parents are. We also know how important the child's birth family is to the child, and we know that finding permanency is crucial in allowing a child to find healing and peace. That's why we work closely with our foster families to help children in foster care find the way home, to a permanent home.

Our first step is looking closely at the child's birth family to find a viable family member who will work with us in providing the child or children with a permanent, safe, supportive home. When the parent or parents are not able to safely care for the child, we look for an aunt, uncle, grandparent or cousin to take the child in. When we find a relative who will take the child, we work closely with him or her before the child comes home. Our foster families help their children stay in touch with members of the birth family and help the child visit with them until they are ready to transition home.

Nearly 75 percent of the children who leave our foster care program each year are successfully reunited with members of their own families. Our data show that more than 80 percent of children continue to live successfully with their families two years after leaving any of our programs.

There are children who cannot return to their birth families, and there are children who either are not or do not want to be adopted. Youth Villages continues to help these children and young adults even after they turn 18 and age out of foster care.

Our Transitional Living program helps children without viable family support make a successful transition into independent adulthood. We assign a counselor to every young adult in the TL program to guide them as they make crucial decisions regarding their future and to help them attain their goals -- whether that's going to college, renting their first apartment, learning to budget, going to a vocational school or finding their first job. We will accompany our young adults to ensure they land on their feet and have the skills and resources they need to build a successful future.

Can foster parents adopt their foster children?
It depends. When there truly is no viable member of the child's birth family who can or will take the child in, Youth Villages begins an extensive search for an adoptive family. In these cases, our foster families who have had a child in their homes for more than six months have the first right to adopt.

We think it's wonderful when a foster family adopts their foster child, and we have had many foster families adopt not just one child but several, even sibling groups of four, five or six children. Adoption through Youth Villages is free, and we do what we can to make the adoption process as easy as possible for our families and children. Many of the children in our foster care program qualify for continuing adoption assistance, which can be a great relief to our adoptive families.

We encourage our foster families who are interested in adoption to tell us right away about their desire to adopt. We will then look specifically for children who are available for adoption or who will become available for adoption to be placed into their homes.

In what states can I be a Youth Villages foster parent?
As a Youth Villages foster parent, you can make a difference in the lives of children in foster care in Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

How can I learn more about becoming a Youth Villages foster parent?
To learn more about foster parenting, the children who need foster homes or what it takes to become a foster parent, contact the foster parent recruiter for your area.

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