Resources for Foster Parents

There is no play­book for fos­ter par­ent­ing, but the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Fam­i­ly Well-Being Strat­e­gy Group has iden­ti­fied 10 online resources aimed at help­ing care­givers suc­ceed in this crit­i­cal role.

Check out…

“It Matters…A LOT”
A blog post, writ­ten by an adop­tion recruiter in Ohio, that under­scores the impor­tance of keep­ing sib­lings togeth­er in fos­ter care.

Sup­port­ing Your LGBTQ Youth
A recent arti­cle in the Fam­i­ly Jus­tice Jour­nal describes expe­ri­ences of LGBTQ+ youth in care to help every­one bet­ter under­stand and sup­port these young people.

Humans of Fos­ter Care
A Face­book page fea­tur­ing posts from the fos­ter care com­mu­ni­ty, includ­ing sto­ries from fos­ter par­ents, case­work­ers and youth in care.

Nation­al Fos­ter Par­ent Association The offi­cial Face­book page of the NFPA, a non­prof­it ded­i­cat­ed to aid­ing fos­ter par­ents in achiev­ing safe­ty, per­ma­nence and well-being for the chil­dren and youth in their care. Also, see their curat­ed resource library for fos­ter, adop­tive and kin­ship parents.

Rise
A mag­a­zine writ­ten by par­ents who have per­son­al expe­ri­ence nav­i­gat­ing the child wel­fare system.

Social Media Tips for Fos­ter Par­ents and Caregivers
A fact sheet with ques­tions and tips for fos­ter par­ents to con­sid­er when explor­ing social media use for them­selves or a child in their care.

Grand­par­ents Rais­ing Grandchildren
A web­page with tar­get­ed advice for grand­par­ents who have stepped in to serve as the pri­ma­ry par­ent for their grandchildren.

Cop­ing With the Unique Chal­lenges of Kin­ship Care
A video train­ing series by Joseph Crum­b­ley for kin care­givers and the child wel­fare work­ers who sup­port them.

Resources Espe­cial­ly for Fos­ter or Adop­tive Families
A web­page geared toward sup­port­ing fos­ter par­ents and adop­tive par­ents who have a child with dis­abil­i­ties in their care.

Keep­ing the Con­ver­sa­tion Alive
A resource series — lever­ag­ing find­ings from ado­les­cent brain sci­ence — for care­givers, child wel­fare pro­fes­sion­als and oth­er car­ing adults to help them bet­ter sup­port youth in care.

Thrive: How the Sci­ence of the Ado­les­cent Brain Helps Us Imag­ine a Bet­ter Future for All Chil­dren
Lisa Lawson’s Thrive explores how car­ing adults can help young peo­ple build resilience, pur­pose, and con­nec­tion to reach their full potential.