Become a foster parent
Becoming a foster parent: What does that mean?
Foster parents offer children who are temporarily or permanently unable to live with their biological parents a stable and loving home. Suitable foster families with different skills and lifestyles are sought for this purpose. But what exactly is foster parenting - and how can you become a foster parent? This article clarifies the terminology and provides a brief overview for those interested.
Becoming a foster family - with good preparation
Are you interested in taking in a foster child? Perhaps you would like to start a family or expand your family? Perhaps you would like to do something meaningful with your heart for children or get involved in social work? There are many reasons for taking in a foster child into the family. First of all, it is important to familiarize yourself with your own ideas, expectations and requirements and to find out what the preparation process might look like. The foster children's service in your city, the youth welfare office or an independent youth welfare organization will help you make an individual decision and will also be at your side with advice and support if a foster child lives in your family.
What does it mean to be a foster family?
As a foster family, you accompany a child for part of their life. This task is meaningful and rewarding, but can also be challenging at times. You take on an important role in child protection and offer children whose parents are overwhelmed for various reasons a safe and loving environment to grow up in. This can be for a certain period of time or permanently. The child's relationship with its parents and relatives often remains important. Foster children remain legally part of their biological family. This is the fundamental difference between foster care and adoption.
Foster parenthood, adoption, guardianship - what's the difference?
The terms describe different forms of care for children who cannot live with their biological family:
-
Foster parenthood
In foster care, a child is taken into a family that is not their biological family. The foster parents care for and raise the child. However, legal responsibility, i.e. custody, usually remains with the youth welfare office or the biological parents. The children have visiting contact with their parents if it is not detrimental to the child's welfare.
-
Adoption
In an adoption, the child becomes a permanent part of the new family. In this case, full custody as well as all rights and obligations are transferred to the adoptive parents.
-
Guardianship
A guardianship is ordered by the family court if the parents are currently unable to exercise their custody rights. Custody is then transferred to another person who decides all essential matters for the foster child, e.g. where they live, where they go to school or what medical treatment they should receive. Guardianship can be assumed by a person from the youth welfare office, a freelance person or even foster carers if the child lives there permanently.
What forms of foster parenting are there?
Depending on the child's situation and needs, the following forms can be distinguished:
-
Full-time care
The child lives with the foster family permanently or for a longer period of time, often until they reach the age of majority.
-
Short-term care
The child spends a limited period of time in the foster family if the parents are temporarily unable to look after the child, for example due to illness or a stay at a health resort or as a result of other family crises. The child usually returns to their family after short-term care.
-
On-call care
Custodial care is a short-term and temporary emergency placement as a result of being taken into care in crisis situations - often only for a few days or weeks. Once their future prospects have been clarified, the children either return to their parents or are placed in another form of care. As a foster family in standby care, you must be prepared for short, temporary relationships.
-
Kinship care or network family
A child who cannot live with their parents grows up with relatives, for example with grandparents, an aunt or friends of the parents to whom they are not related.
Where can foster families find help and advice?
If you have any questions about foster parenting, it is best to contact your local youth welfare office, the foster care service in your town or a recognized independent provider directly.
You can find your local youth welfare office with just a few clicks via our Family Guide here on Familienportal.NRW.
On the internet, you can find detailed information on foster parenting at the PFAD federal association. Among other things, the foster family interest group bundles information for interested foster parents, experience reports and an online program to strengthen foster families on its portal.
The association PAN Pflege- und Adoptivfamilien NRW e.V. offers professional information, exchange and advice on the topic of adoption and advocates for the interests of adoptive and foster families.
Further information Links to read more
Further information Download
