family connection By Susan Grandpre  

The city of Richmond has a great need for foster homes for children ages one to 17. Statewide, Richmond has one of the highest number of children entering foster care and, therefore, has the continuing challenge of finding safe and secure foster homes.
Before any person can become a foster or adoptive parent, an extensive screening process is conducted. The intentions and income of the applicant are evaluated. Fingerprints are taken and background checks are conducted. This screening process also includes interviews, home visits and a fire inspection.
Then, foster parents must complete training. Because the trend is that foster parents adopt the children they are fostering, the Richmond Department of Social Services offers a dual training program whereby applicants are trained to be foster parents as well as adoptive parents.
“The nine-week training program offered by the department explains the issues children deal with when removed from their biological families,” says Lydia Byrd, of the Richmond DSS.
Foster Parents are Prepared
The training course addresses some of the practical issues of foster parenting, including the monthly stipend, medical coverage for all foster children, counseling and day care coverage.
An assessment aspect of the training process requires applicants to examine their own family and decide if foster parenting is something they are committed to and can accomplish.
As a continuing training element, all foster parents must complete 12 hours of in-service training each year. This training covers a variety of topics that foster parents encounter, such as anger issues, the school systems, Individualized Education Plans and attachment disorders.
Various Roles Exist
As a person goes through the training process, they will learn about the several options for foster parenting. A person can become an Emergency Foster Parent who keeps the foster child for up to 30 days. Another option is the Professional Foster Parent who takes in teenagers to help them prepare to live independently.
The Therapeutic Foster Parent fosters the severely emotionally disturbed child. To become a Therapeutic Foster Parent, an applicant must complete an additional 26 hours of training by a licensed clinical social worker.
A new program being introduced, Multi-dimensional Therapeutic Foster Care, has the goal of taking children out of residential treatment facilities and placing them back in homes in the community. Subsequent training is required for this program.
According to Byrd, social services agencies want to offer any service necessary to make a successful transition for the children to the new family and community. This means supporting the foster parents in any way possible. For more information, contact Lydia Byrd at 804-646-6429.

Susan Grandpre earned a B.A. in English from James Madison University and has been a freelance writer for nine years. She lives in Richmond with her husband and three children.

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