When you think of foster care, what comes to mind? Likely, you imagine a system wrought with red tape and bureaucracy. You may think of a child bouncing from home to home, never really finding a place to call their own. While this is sometimes the reality for children in the foster care system, it doesn't have to be that way.
Thankfully, there are agencies like Angels Foster Family Network who work diligently to help navigate the foster care system and ensure that every child has a safe, stable, and loving home. As a private foster family agency, Angels operates in tandem with the Child Welfare Services Department of the County of San Diego. This means that they are able to offer an unparalleled level of support to their resource parents as they keep their case managers' case levels low so that they are able to give families the attention they deserve.
Support Groups & Training for the Foster Care System
In addition to providing much-needed support, Angels also offers training and resources to their foster parents so that they can be as prepared as possible to provide a loving home for one child or sibling set at a time. This includes training on everything from basic parenting skills to how to deal with difficult behaviors. With regular, ongoing training, support groups with other resource parents tailored to the needs of each family, and dedicated case managers (including 24-hour access with Angels’ on-call staff), you know that each resource family is well taken care of while working within the ever-changing foster care system. Angels parents are never alone.
Do Foster Parents Get Paid?
The foster family agency also provides financial assistance in the form of a monthly stipend to help cover the costs of caring for a child in foster care. It’s worth noting, however, that – while these stipends are excellent bonuses to help defray some of those costs – Angels does require all resource parents/families to be financially stable without this stipend. Fostering can be stressful enough without the added burden of financials if that stipend was something a family was depending on.
We All Work Together in Foster Care
By working closely with the Child Welfare Services Department and providing support and guidance to their resource parents, Angels Foster Family Network is able to give children in the foster care system the best possible chance for a bright future.
If you're interested in learning more about how Angels Foster Family Network can support you as a foster parent, please check out our Fostering 101 page and be sure to watch our orientation video. Thank you for your commitment to serving vulnerable children and youth in San Diego!