Foster Care

Foster care is a program that provides services, substitute care, and supervision for a child on a 24-hour basis until the child can return to his or her family or be placed in an adoptive home or another permanent placement. All local departments of social services provide foster care. Children enter into foster care for many reasons, including abuse, neglect, and abandonment. From the time a child enters the foster care system, the child has a "permanency goal" designed to ensure they will have an appropriate family with which to live.

Role of a Foster Parent

Foster parents are asked to provide a safe, stable, temporary and caring atmosphere for a child placed in their home. Foster parents become part of a team effort to support the child and implement the plans made for the child. This involves working with biological parents, courts, local departments of social services and other involved agencies.While many families provide foster care homes for children, the need for more individuals willing to share their home and heart with a child is on-going. Foster care is intended to be a temporary rather than a long-term solution for children who have been removed from their birth family homes for reasons of neglect, abuse, abandonment, or other issues endangering their health and/or safety. Every effort is made to help the child remain with his or her family, however, when a child comes into foster care they are most often placed in a foster home. The foster family works as a team with the Department of Human Services , the biological family, the child (when applicable) and any additional community partners.

Interested in Becoming a Foster Parent?

The temporary and complex nature of foster care places special demands on foster parents. They are asked to take someone else's child into their home, care for the child and treat the child as a member of their family. It is essential that foster parents understand and are willing to meet the physical and emotional needs of children within the context of their culture. All foster parents receive support as part of a team of individuals and agencies, working together in the best interests of each child. The Norfolk Department of Human Services offers information sessions about foster parenting throughout the year and provides concurrent training for prospective foster and adoptive parents.

Request information about Foster Care here

The Norfolk Foster Care Program provides the necessary support and training to enable foster parents to provide daily care and supervision for the child in care.