Role:

As a foster parent you have many responsibilities to a number of individuals: the child placed in your home, the agency, the child's biological family, the team and your own family.

Your goal as a foster parent is to provide skilled care, discipline and nurturing for any child placed in your home, while serious problems are addressed through treatment interventions. You must operate as a parent, a behavior management specialist, a mentor, a guide, a protector, a team member, an advocate, a teacher, a mentor of families, and as a caregiver. This is a big role. We have broken your tasks down to the following:

Tasks and Responsibilities

CHILD'S PHYSICAL NEEDS:

• Meet the child's basic need for food, clothing and shelter.
• Provide adequate personal space for the child with a separate bed and place to store their belongings.
• Feed the child nourishing meals on a regular basis.
• Regularly check the child's clothing needs and keep the child well clothed year round.
• Provide for the child's personal care, health and hygiene needs.
• See that the child is clean and well-groomed. Teach personal hygiene methods when necessary.
• Transport the child to all medical, dental and health appointments. Assure the child's medical and dental health needs are regularly checked and met.
• Provide adequate supervision on a 24-hour basis. (If you are not present to supervise it is your responsibility to make sure the child is being supervised by an approved adult.)
• Assure that the child follows a healthy, structured daily routine.
• Provide opportunities for the child to get regular and sufficient exercise.
• Administer all prescribed medications as directed. If problems or symptoms develop, contact medical assistance and/or staff immediately. Do NOT make a decision to discontinue medication without a doctor's approval.

CHILD'S EMOTIONAL AND NURTURING NEEDS:

• Provide fair and equal treatment for all children in your home.
• Transport the child to all counseling appointments, assessments, testing and medical management appointments.
• Include the child in all family activities.
• Provide fair and equal treatment for all children in your home.
• Express affection often. Demonstrate affection in appropriate, healthy ways.
• Say positive things about the child to others, or in their hearing.
• Understand and care about the child's feelings.
• Avoid hurtful, sarcastic comments. Do not criticize the child in front of others.
• Listen non-judgmentally to child's feelings.
• Take pride in how the child looks and presents themselves to others.
• Seek to establish supportive relationship with child's biological family.
• Never speak negatively about child's family or history. Listen and empathize, but do not judge.
• Model effective ways of expressing powerful feelings.
• Help children advance through the grieving and adjustment process that accompanies removal from their home and placement.
• Provide recreational and enrichment activities that will promote the health development of a positive self-esteem.
• Respect confidentiality of the child.

CHILD'S EDUCATIONAL NEEDS:

• Enroll the child in school.
• Provide for daily attendance at school.
• Provide a quiet physical space for the child to complete school assignments.
• Monitor the child's educational progress.
• Transport the child to any educational evaluations.
• Communicate with teachers, guidance counselors and administrators to ensure your child is participating and cooperating with the school.
• Attend any after school meetings required.
• Provide access to after school activities, sports, etc.
• Provide for necessary equipment and funding to participate in custodian/team approved activities.

CHILD'S RECREATIONAL NEEDS:

• Encourages the child's involvement in social and recreational activities.
• Provides transportation, equipment and funding to engage in custodian/team approved activities.
• Encourage the child to develop hobbies, skills, talents, and personal interests.
• Applaud their achievements.

TEACHING/DISCIPLINE TASKS:

• Provide consistent and realistic discipline and guidance that is age appropriate and does not involve corporal punishment.
• Teach the child effective social interaction skills.
• Teach the child how to respond in difficult situations.
• Teach problem-solving skills.
• Observe, count and record behaviors as requested by clinicians.
• Use effective praise techniques to encourage positive behavior.
• Teach negotiation skills to the child. Demonstrate these skills at all times of conflict between you and the child.
• Teach the child effective time management and how to be responsible for their own lives.
• Teach effective anger management skills. Reinforce those taught by the agency. Demonstrate these skills at all times of conflict.
• Document behaviors effectively.

WORKING WITH THE AGENCY/TEAM:

• Attend all agency/team meetings and participate fully.
• Provide adequate information regarding the child's progress, behaviors at home and school to the agency/team.
• Notify the agency or on-call worker immediately in all emergencies.
• Transport child to activities, meetings, appointments, etc.
• Submit all requested documentation in a timely manner.
• Discuss important status changes in your family with the agency (such as job change, separations, divorce, illness, financial stability, etc.).
• Participate in planing for the child--permanency, treatment, options, etc.
• Implement suggested behavior management plans from professional therapists, social workers, etc.
• Cooperate and support other agency/team members' roles and responsibilities.
• Communicate effectively with all agency/team members so child does not split authorities in his/her life.
• Adhere to agency/team policies and procedures.
• Effectively use emergency procedures and on-call procedures.
• Recognize when you need help or support and request this support from the agency or team.
• Notify the agency/team of any vacation or holiday plans. Allow adequate time for custodial approval and preparation.
• Meet all training requirements. Identify to the agency/team where you feel you need additional training and support.
• Attend support group meetings.

WORKING WITH THE BIOLOGICAL FAMILY:

• Provide a supportive, non-judgmental attitude of respect at all times.
• Work with the biological family as an extension of their family rather than an alternative to the family.
• Model effective discipline techniques.
• Model professional team behavior.
• Model effective negotiating, conflict management and anger management skills.
• Be willing to listen to their story, needs.
• Cooperate fully with phone calls and visitations as prescribed by the team.
• Respect confidentiality of the family.
• Provide information, pictures, school data, report cards, medical records, etc. to the family.