Every Pennsylvania Child Deserves a Home Where They Feel Safe and Loved’
| Through education, volunteering and partnerships, we can strengthen our communities and ensure that youth in foster care have the support they need for a future they deserve. Foster care provides temporary care for children who are unable to remain in their own homes for safety reasons and who are placed in the custody of a county children and youth agency by the courts. Pennsylvania currently has more than 13,000 children in foster care. During the month of May, we celebrate National Foster Care Month. This is an opportunity for us to recognize foster youth and the people who provide them with love and support. It is our duty to help vulnerable children, child welfare professionals, and the families they serve. Meet PA Kids Waiting for a Loving Home! PA Needs Foster Parents! Pennsylvania has a critical need for more foster parents — if you would like to make a difference in a child’s life, contact your county children and youth agency. Locate your local county children and youth agency Learn More about PA foster care: PA Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN)Questions? Call the SWAN Helpline at 1-800-585-7926 or send an email to swanhelpline@diakon-swan.org.Becoming a foster parentIt takes a special type of person to provide stability to children in crisis when their own home has stopped being the right place for them to live, at least for the time being. But that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped needing what all kids need — security, nurturing and guidance. Foster parents step in and provide those protections temporarily. Both public and private foster care agencies, as well as the Pennsylvania State Resource Family Association (toll-free: 800-951-5151) recruit foster parents to provide these services for children. Each foster care agency accepts applications from individuals interested in becoming foster parents. Minimum requirements that must be met by all applicants: Be at least 21 years of age;Pass a medical examination; andPass screening requirements related to child abuse and criminal history clearances.FAQ: Clearances for Foster/Adoptive Parents and Household members Other factors taken into consideration: Parent/child relationships;Ability to meet special needs of children placed in the home;Number and characteristics of children best suited for the foster family; and/orResidential requirements (Title 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3700).Foster parents receive training and support while caring for the child. In addition, foster parents are reimbursed for the cost of caring for a foster child and health care costs are generally covered.Support Through the ProcessSupport groups are available and may be offered as part of a state’s post-adoption/guardianship support program, through a statewide or regional foster or adoptive parent association, through specific agencies, or may be run independently. Pennsylvania State Resource Family Association (PSRFA)Find a foster care support group near you — AdoptUSKids.orgPA KinConnectorPA KinConnector provides resources, information, support and education (RISE) for kinship caregivers — including grandparents, aunts or uncles, siblings, cousins, or non-blood “relatives” — who take on the traditional parenting responsibilities when biological parents cannot.Learn more about PA KinConnectorFind available family services by county Connect with free resources: 1-800-490-8505Additional Foster Care Resources National Foster Care Month 2022 — Child Welfare Information GatewayDiakon Adoption & Foster CareFoster Care — U.S. Administration for Children & FamiliesPennsylvanian Youth Advisory Board (YAB)Adopt.orgA Proclamation on National Foster Care Month, 2022 — The White HouseUPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION Did you move? Have a new phone number? Keep the lines of communications open with DHS to receive critical updates concerning your benefits.LOG IN TO COMPASS TO MAKE UPDATES More from DHS Follow DHS on Social@PAHumanServices@PAHumanServicesPA Department of Human ServicesThank you for subscribing!All of us at DHS would like to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to all of our readers as we continue to serve, protect, and educate Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable. If you’re not a DHS regular yet, be sure to follow us on social and visit our For All of Us blog for more reads.DHS & PA Headlines• As 988 hotline goes live in Pennsylvania, crisis centers need workers — WITF • Affordable for whom? The cost of child care in Pa. — Pennsylvania Capital-Star |
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