STEPS TO BECOMING A FOSTER PARENT

Step 1: Attend the Resource Family Orientation: If you live in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks or Mat-Su, see the orientation schedule posted on this web site to find out when the next orientation is happening in your community.

If your community does not have resource family orientations, complete the orientation through one of the ACRF distance options. Distance delivery orientation options include:

• Telephonic Orientation (held once monthly) call us to register at 1-800-478-7307.
• Web based orientation (click here)
• Self-Study orientation Course, call us to order one at 1-800-478-7307.

If your community does not have resource family orientations, complete the orientation through one of the ACRF distance options. You may request a self-study course to be mailed to you or you may complete the interactive Resource Family Orientation located on this web site (located at the lower right hand corner of this page). Completing either the self-study course or the web-based course will earn you a Certificate of Completion.

Step 2: Complete the Resource Family Application and Get Fingerprinted: When you attend an on-site orientation session, the Office of Children's Services licensing worker conducting the orientation will give you an application packet. In this packet is a Resource Family Application and the necessary forms and cards for getting fingerprinting. The application will ask for basic information about yourself and the people in your family. It will also ask for four personal reference and for permission to complete a background check on all persons over 16 years of age in your household. Follow the information to get a set of fingerprint cards, complete the information asked for in the application and return all this information to your local Office of Children's Services office.

If you do not have a regular orientation in your community, contact your nearest Office of Children's Services to request a Resource Family Application or call the Alaska Center for Resource Families at 1-800-478-7307 to find the office nearest you.

Office of Children's Services online application to become a resource family

Step 3: Complete Background Checks and Initial Home Visit. Once you return the licensing paperwork to your OCS worker, he or she will process the paperwork and complete the background checks for everyone in your home over age 16 years. If your family is "cleared" for licensing (no prohibitive criminal or substantiated child protection records exist), your Licensing Worker will make an appointment with you to complete the physical home study (also called the Standard by Standard).

Step 4: Participate in home visits: The OCS licensing worker or social worker will make home visits. In many parts of Alaska, the Office of Children's Services will ask you to participate in the Resource Family Assessment (RFA). This is an interview and home study process that involves several interviews with you and your family members so that OCS can develop a thorough profile of your family and the type of children who will do best in your home. This RFA will also serve as an adoption home study if your family is interested in adopting a child through the foster care process. The RFA is being implemented across Alaska and may not yet be available in your community.

Step 5: Attend CORE Training for Resource Families: All foster and adoptive families should attend this basic training. CORE training covers information about the child protection system, separation, grief and loss, visitation and birth families, positive parenting, transitions back to birth parents and adoption through the State of Alaska. CORE training meets the requirement for the first licensing year.

For information about CORE training in your area, contact the Alaska Center for Resource Families. On-site CORE training is held in Anchorage, Mat-Su, Kenai, Fairbanks, and Juneau. ACRF also has a self-study CORE workbook for resource families who do not have access to on-site training.

Licensed foster parents are required to have 15 hours of training for two parent homes and 10 hours of training per single parent homes each year. Foster parents are also required to have on-going training, which should cover aspects of parenting children with special needs. ACRF has a variety of training formats to help you complete this requirement, including on-site training and independent learning. See the other places in this web site for independent learning and distance delivery educational materials.

Step 6: Foster Care Licensing: When you successfully complete the above requirements, you will become a licensed foster home. During your first licensing year, you will have a provisional license. After your first successful year as a foster parent, your license status will change to biennial status. This means that your renewal will take place every two years. However, you still need to complete the yearly training requirement.

Step 7: Placement of Children: Once licensed, your foster family will be contacted by OCS social workers for placement of children. At the time of placement the social worker will inform you about the child(ren) that needing placement.

When children are placed, the social worker should complete a foster care placement plan so you understand what your obligations are. Obligations may include making the child available for visits with birth parents, attending medical or therapeutic appointments. Every case is different and every child is different. The foster care placement plan outlines the specific for your particular child.

The foster care reimbursement is paid to you on a monthly basis and is based on how many days a child has been in your home. The social worker will begin this payment process by beginning a file in the statewide data information system. It is important to talk to the social worker about the payment process when a child is placed in your home.

Step 8: Ongoing Support and Training: Foster parenting has many rewards and challenges. The staff at the Alaska Center for Resource Families is available to provide you with support so phone us anytime with questions. Our Training Coordinators can meet one-on-one with you to discuss family/child specific issues; refer you to other foster parent mentors; and provide you with training and information. We want you to have a good experience as a foster parent and will strive to help you the best we can!

Schedule for Orientation on Becoming a Foster or Adoptive Parent